A Definition of Big Data
Big Data is everywhere. But, do you really know what it is and how it can help your business? SAS perfectly captures Big Data as “a term that describes the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis.” But, as SAS points out, the amount of data is not as important as what organizations do with it: analyzing Big Data results in the insights you need to make better business decisions and strategic moves.
Lisa Arthur, Teradata Applications CMO and Forbes contributor, explains that Big Data “is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside your company that represents a source for ongoing discovery and analysis.” She asserts that traditional data must be included in Big Data because it is an important piece of the Big Data picture. Indeed, incorporating data from all sources is key to optimizing the insights gained with Big Data.
In recent years, there has been a boom in Big Data because of the growth of social, mobile, cloud, and multi-media computing. We now have unprecedented amounts of data, and it is up to organizations to harness the data in order to extract useful, actionable insights. But, because traditional systems cannot store, process, and analyze massive amounts of unstructured data, organizations are turning to Big Data management solutions to turn unstructured data into the actionable data needed for gaining key insights into their business and customers.
Benefits of Using Big Data Analytics
As the volume of data continues to grow, its potential for business seems to be growing exponentially as Big Data management solutions evolve allowing companies to turn raw data into relevant trends, predictions, and projections with unprecedented accuracy. Companies that use comprehensive Big Data analytics solutions reap the benefits, gaining even more insights that drive intelligent decision-making. Some of the benefits of Big Data analytics include…
- Identifying the root causes of failures and issues in real time
- Fully understanding the potential of data-driven marketing
- Generating customer offers based on their buying habits
- Improving customer engagement and increasing customer loyalty
- Reevaluating risk portfolios quickly
- Personalizing the customer experience
- Adding value to online and offline customer interactions
Advantages of Big Data Management Solutions
The best Big Data management solutions give companies the ability to aggregate a variety of data from hundreds of sources in real time. This results in better customer engagement through more effective inbound interactions and marketing programs, which ultimately leads to greater customer lifetime value. Big Data analytics powered by advanced Big Data management solutions gives organizations comprehensive customer profiles, enabling the delivery of more personalized customer experiences at every touchpoint throughout the buyer’s journey.
And, these top Big Data management solutions eliminate data silos so that organizations get a single, 360-degree customer view that includes countless descriptive, calculated, and industry-specific metrics for building detailed records of individual customer’s behavior. These profiles, or what NGDATA calls “customer DNA,” give organizations a comprehensive understanding of their customers through deep customer insights and operationalized analytics, which allow for omni-channel impact.
Big Data may seem daunting, but with the right Big Data management solution, your organization can tackle the data you need to get actionable insights and increase your customer lifetime value.
Further Reading
Looking for more information on Big Data? Check out these articles and resources: