Facebook is known for utilizing Big Data, and it has been for years. From connecting its users to creating videos of virtual friendships that span over a decade, Facebook was one of the first companies to see the potential of using big data to improve customer experiences.
While a highly visible example, Facebook’s use of big data doesn’t translate to other companies well. If you’re not in the business of creating social connections, you might not see how big data applies to you. Everyone says big data is the future of business, but meanwhile you’re wondering what your investment in big data will actually do for you. So let’s break it down.
Explore the 3 Pieces of Big Data Management > >
Business-Centric Big Data Management
Business-centric big data management tends to focus on increasing profits and generating new revenue. There are many ways BDM projects can produce benefits. Big data management is the first step towards creating a 360-degree view of customers, products or suppliers. More information allows for more personalized—and accurate—targeting of consumers, a deeper understanding of your products, and the ability to fine-tune supplier relationships.
Companies that utilize Big Data achieve five-to-six percent higher productivity and profitability. With the increased data integration and visibility provided by BDM, it is also possible to more accurately calculate return on investment (ROI). According to a McKinsey analysis, companies that largely base marketing and sales decisions on big data boost their marketing ROI by up to twenty percent.
Basically, companies have been making business decisions based on a puzzle that was missing half its pieces. You could get an idea of what was going on, but there was very little specificity. With an effective big data management infrastructure in place, nearly every piece of the puzzle is filled in. This increase of knowledge is, quite frankly, an increase of power. It’s up to you whether your big data is used to power marketing endeavors or create more assured business decisions, but whatever you decide, BDM puts the power in your hands.
IT-Centric Big Data Management
On the other hand, there is also IT-centric big data management. These types of big data management projects tend to focus on efficiency and company capabilities. With fully integrated and cleansed big data, IT can see where company processes could be made more efficient and more effective. They can also look towards the future and build new analytical capabilities. These can increase a company’s ability to gather data, more quickly draw insights from their data, lower infrastructure costs…the opportunities are boundless.
