We are surrounded by one or the other term coined by different people to express the same thing: Gartner calls it Nexus of forces, IDC calls it the third platform, GE calls it the industrial internet. However, each of these term describes how people, processes, data and things can work together in this digital era. From fortune 500 companies to one-person shop, any company that is collecting data about their customers, are affected by these terms. Cisco predicts that $19.4 trillion of value will be ‘up for grabs’ for private sector businesses.
Big data guru, Bernard Marr’s recent article ‘4 ways big data will change every business’ points these very well. According to the article, data will become asset to every business. Currently available technologies allow us to transform this asset into smart asset that will answer all of our questions related to business improvement. Big data help companies gain customer intelligence as it allows them to know more and more about the customers,that is how big data improves internal efficiency and operations for every business. Further, data allow companies to improve customer experience that can and open up new streams of revenue for the company.
Another great presentation by Manjula Talreja, VP of Cisco consulting services, at Cloud expo highlights examples of innovations that big data analytics can bring. She talks about dramatic change that needs to happen for every business in terms of people, process, data and things as follows
People – facilitate access to expertise at the point of business and not at the headquarters.
Process – analysis has to happen with agility. For example, ‘out of stock’ items need to be identified in real-time that previously was happening after collecting data for an entire month!
Data – focus on what will happen vs what is happening! Has to be predictive.
- Things – connect the dark assets though machine to machine interaction. Thus, remove friction to create value.
Real-life examples
Acorns – takes up changes from your credit/debit card expenses, rounds it off, and once it reaches $5 starts investing it for you. Thus, creates value out of your dark asset.
Tiply – An application that allows you to tip anyone using any currency by using facial recognition.
Bloomingdales – A designer clothing and accessories company takes care of their customer who have wait time by offering them coffee coupons in real-time.
Branch recognition – Many banks are using technology to identify customers as soon as they walk into any branch based on their mobile application and promptly provide wait-time or welcome messages on their cell phone.
At present we are at convergence of social, mobile, analytics and cloud that is opening up unforeseen opportunities for every businesses. Is your business ready with this new currency-Insight? Let us know your thoughts.
