Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
In some industries big data has spurred entirely new business models. For example,
retail banking has started to exploit social media data to create tailored products and
offerings for customers in capital markets; due to the onset of algorithmic trading, massive
amounts of market data are getting captured, which in turn is helping the regulators to
spot market manipulation activities in real time. In the retail sector, big data is expediting
analysis of in-store purchasing behaviors, customer footprint analysis, inventory
optimization, store layout arrangement—all in near-real time.
While every industry uses different approaches and focuses on different aspects from
marketing to supply chain, almost all are immersed in a transformation that leverages
analytics and big data (see Figure
1-5
).
Figure 1-5.
Industry use cases for big data
Yet few organizations have fully grasped what big data is and what it can mean for
the future. At present most of the big data initiatives are at an experimental stage. While
we believe no organization should miss the opportunities that big data offers, the hardest
part is knowing how to get started. Before you embark on a big data initiative, you should
get answers to the following four questions to help you on your transformation journey:
•
Where will big data and analytics create advantages for
the company?
•
How should you organize to capture the benefits of big data
and analytics?
•
What technology investments can enable the analytics
capabilities?
•
How do you get started on the big data journey?
