Is big data only for big business?

Businesses of all sizes have big data, it's just the format that differs, says Lee Jenkins, head of Technology at ETS Innovations.


Johannesburg, 02 Feb 2018
Lee Jenkins, Head of Technology, ETS Innovations.
Lee Jenkins, Head of Technology, ETS Innovations.

Businesses of all sizes need to make smarter decisions to survive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. And those decisions need to be based on analysis of their data. Data analysis isn't only for corporates, however. All businesses have useful data; the only difference is that sometimes it's scribbled in notebooks or on sticky notes and - by the very nature of the medium on which it's recorded - siloed. This isn't only true of small businesses; some big businesses still rely on documents in filing cabinets to store their information.

Lee Jenkins, Head of Technology at ETS Innovations, says: "Business data has always existed. In previous years, it was largely in paper format and mining that data entailed digging through sticky notes, ledgers, filing cabinets, spreadsheets, invoices and receipts. One of the secrets to a successful business is knowing your customer. However, the only way in which businesses can get to know who their customers are, what products and services they're buying, and what they're using them for, is by examining their data."

Big data is able to tell a business which customers can be successfully targeted, and what new products and services can be designed to meet customer-specific needs. It also tracks the success (or otherwise) of historical initiatives. An analysis of spending patterns as well as complaints and compliments received can give a business of any size a pretty fair idea of how its products and services are doing - and what it needs to do going forward.

However, the challenge of being able to analyse unstructured data faces businesses of all sizes, but particularly the SME. Jenkins says: "When it comes to small businesses, speed is of the essence when it comes to decision-making, so the data needs to be readily available and the right questions need to be interrogated. The quantity of data amassed is far less important than the quality and accessibility of that data."

Today, all business of all sizes across all industries require some form of data management system that allows them to access and analyse their company data. However, historically, software solutions that allowed businesses to gain knowledge and insight from their big data were, for the most part, financially out of reach for small businesses.

Jenkins lists four big data solutions that are easily accessible for small business:

* Google Analytics - this enables the business to gather and analyse data from an asset that most businesses have, their Web site. Google Analytics allows free monitoring of Web site traffic, which can be used to reveal trends. You can track how visitors engage with your Web site and collect data around visitor behaviour and mobile device access.
* IBM's Watson Analytics - small businesses can easily access advanced and predictive business analytics through a simplified process. Retrieve, analyse and clean your data to generate usable analysis.
* Qualtrics - this software allows market research and surveys to be conducted online to enable data-driven decision-making.
* ClearStory Data - get access to advanced data mining and analytics tools, in a simple easy to understand dashboard format. Provides insights from disparate data sources and can be used across a wide variety of industries.

Jenkins continues: "Small businesses need affordability, yes, but they also need a solution that's simple to use and that can generate analysis in an easy to understand format. Knowing where to look, and what questions to ask, will allow even small businesses to gain great insight about their customers, and how they use their products and services. As more and more small businesses implement big data analytics, I predict that we're going to see them heading the big data drive."

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