Guest Blog written by Ed Abrams Vice President IBM Midmarket Business
Businesses of all sizes are facing a barrage of information.
From the regional bank that has to process thousands of transactions for customers who demand immediate information and response, to the law firm that has to process mounting paperwork from disability claims, to the police chief who has to ensure his officers have the most accurate and current data to assess risks in the hopes of reducing crime on their local streets, and to the doctor who has to manage and make sense of patient medical records — the dynamic of all these information needs is what we call Big Data.
Big Data is the ability to access and make sense of huge volumes of information, often in real-time, and it. Big Data is a game-changing trend for every industry, government, society and business, regardless of size or complexity.
Big Data is on the verge of a rapid growth spurt, due to top $50 billion in IT spending worldwide within the next five years. However, a third of U.S.-based small and midsize businesses (SMBs ) using business analytics and interested in making the leap to Big Data analytics cite a lack of skills expertise as their main barrier to adoption, according to Techaisle.
With information constantly flowing from sources both inside and outside organizations, SMBs are discovering they need to have all of their data in one place. Having centralized data would enable SMBs to examine their operations in a single view to help them glean useful and actionable insights.
SMBs, like their larger counterparts, are looking to use Big Data analytics to grow their business through deeper insights into business operations and their competition. With Big Data, SMBs can make more informed decisions to help them cut costs and improve profitability.
Take, for example, a regional pizza chain that wanted to help its management be smarter about how the outlets operated. The pizza chain turned to a business analytics solution that allowed its district managers to use data to meet customer demand in real time with the best service. Analytics has given the chain increased insight into its data in all of its forms — from loyalty reward points to social media posts, and distributing the insights in a simple and meaningful way to influence marketing decisions from menu options to local promotions.
Big Data cannot be managed or analyzed using traditional business intelligence tools and technology. It is typically looked at in terms of volume, variety, velocity and voracity. Big Data is vast, in varied forms, produced at a rapid rate, and sometimes questionable in terms of its reliability. Order must be brought to the Big Data chaos.
First, before an SMB evens begin to consider Big Data solutions, it needs to understand what it’s going to do with the data. Companies often look at a mass of data and then figure out what to do with it. To derive the most actionable insights from Big Data, however, it’s more effective to start with the question — what is the business problem needed to be addressed?
Once these needs are identified, SMBs need to get their data in order. Data needs to be integrated to enable companies to examine products, customers and sales through a single lens. SMBs then need to ensure their data is secure and well-governed. One way some SMBs are addressing data integration and security is shifting functions and applications to the cloud, according to IBM’s 2012 Tech Trends report.
The IT skills and resources necessary to accomplish this integration, security and cloud migration are often beyond an already over-burdened SMB. So SMBs are turning to Managed Services Providers (MSPs) to find ways to both move to the cloud and make the most of Big Data.
Knowing the client’s system inside and out and maintaining a bigger picture outlook, the MSP can manage the Big Data IT infrastructure and preempt technical problems. In turn, MSPs allow a small business to avoid the barrage of Big Data and to concentrate on what they do best — conduct business, only with greater efficiencies and higher profits gained from exploiting Big Data.
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