by Stephanie Rabinowotz | Nov 4, 2015 | Business Optimization
SMB’s or small to medium businesses are often reluctant to use data- let alone big data. To a small company big data can look very daunting; something that will complicate their operation, not simplify it. The stereotype is that big data is made for large corporations, those with so many customers they can’t keep track. This assumption is correct in that big data is an extremely helpful tool in understanding customers and adapting to meet their needs, but the assumption is that it is only for large companies.
Big data is simply a tool that helps businesses become more efficient. Many small companies believe they do not need data analytics because they have close relationships with their customers. The business understands its customers because they know one another, listen to the demand and ensure they can adequately supply. Having a computer in the mix would take away from this human relationship. To a certain extent I can see how this would be a legitimate concern- if you are known as the friendly business who keeps up with their customer relationships and you suddenly neglect your customers to study them on a computer all day, they may not be very happy. But this is not necessarily the case.
When businesses form good relationships with their customers they feel very successful, but what happens when that friendship gets in the way of your revenue? What if the customer uses your friendship to receive discounts or free items or services? What happens to your production rate when you get chatting with a customer and suddenly realize two hours have gone by?
These are all business stoppers that naturally happen when a business thinks they are simply maintaining their customer relationships. It is a human flaw that we cannot see these things happen because we are biased. But these are the types of issues that add up and eventually slow a small business down until they are in some serious trouble. Big data is objective. Data doesn’t care if you haven’t seen a customer in a month and you want to catch up, data will tell you straight up- you wasted an hour of work and these are the repercussions.
This is not to say that small businesses should shut their doors and become computer nerds, they should simply allow themselves to see the truth. Use big data as a tool not to understand your customers better, but to understand your business better. Let data give you the unbiased truth about your production rates and ROI so that your small business can not only be loved, but efficient.
by Stephanie Rabinowotz | Nov 2, 2015 | Case Studies, Measuring Results
The Salvation Army is a Christian based international movement that has been helping those in need since the 19th century. When the Salvation Army began they were in small towns, making it easy to determine who was in need of their assistance. Now that the movement is international, it is much more complicated to determine the areas most affected by poverty.
The Salvation Army has recently teamed up with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to combine the Salvation Army’s service data with the University’s analytics to provide a more accurate Human Needs Index. The Human Needs Index shows us where there is the most poverty and breaks that poverty down into different indicators that allow us to best assist those in need. The Human Needs Index is based on seven needs variables consisting of meals, groceries, housing, clothing, furniture, medical bills, and energy bills.
Instead of determining if an area is impoverished based on income, the Human Needs Index takes it to a different level by finding out why the area is struggling and how they can best help each individual family. This deeper look prevents organizations with good intentions assisting people in ways they don’t need help, such as giving a family clothes when they really need help with their medical bills.
With the Salvation Army providing large amounts of data on those in need and the University analyzing it to break it down into specific conditions, we are getting a much more accurate, almost real time, look at poverty. These insights allow us to track poverty trends affected by public policies and also determine where service efforts are actually making a difference.
The use of Big Data in philanthropy is leading to incredible progress in the mission to aid those in need. There are so many people who need help getting back on their feet and the fact that Big Data is being used to display individual needs is a huge step in the right direction. Many individuals struck by poverty feel as though they are not seen, which is why it is incredibly meaningful when an organization such as the Salvation Army can aid a family with the specific help they need.
Read how else Big Data is helping people! This great article on Energy Usage describes how Big Data can save you money on your next energy bill!
by Stephanie Rabinowotz | Oct 30, 2015 | Big Data
Big Data and Aliens have little in common other than IBM, NASA and SETI’s interest in them.
IBM has announced that they will be lending their Big Data analytics systems to SETI ( Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute to aid in their hunt for extra terrestrial life. NASA is also working with IBM and SETI, providing deep space radio signals that may contain signals that lead to a discovery of other life forms.
How can IBM help SETI look for aliens?
SETI will be utilizing IBM’s Spark system for it’s machine learning qualities. Spark is an open source data system that is continually improving, making it a wonderfully useful tool in searching for the unknown. The deep space radio signals can be processed by Spark to potentially catch any signals that human analysts may have missed.
SETI is extremely excited about the partnership with IBM as their resources have vastly improved. SETI can now search for extra terrestrial life faster and more meticulously. Instead of relying on stargazers and fanatics, SETI now has the help of NASA which means they will receive data on the far out places of space they never had access to before.
This unique partnership is an innovative way to use Big Data. Many companies today are engaging in Big Data Anlalytics to extract information to better their business, but this is the first we are hearing of Big Data working with SETI. Big Data is such a dynamic tool that can be used in almost any realm. From healthcare to banking Big Data is helping people make decisions and discover more accurate information. With IBM, NASA and SETI working together we are making major leaps in the search for intelligence beyond our world.
Just like its effect on other industries, the use of a Big Data analytics system like Spark saves time and money. SETI is now discovering evidence they have been searching for for years! SETI is especially lucky to have their partnership with IBM so that they do not need to run their own Spark system and can simply use IBM’s.
Who knows, maybe in the next ten years we will be tracking extra terrestrial signals in real time, becoming faster and smarter on our hunt to find life forms beyond ourselves.
To learn about how Big Data is being used in other unusual ways check out this interesting article!
by Stephanie Rabinowotz | Oct 28, 2015 | Big Data, Predictive Analytics
Ever wonder how much Americans actually end up spending on Halloween?
Are you sure you want to know?
It is pretty terrifying…
$7.4 Billion
(Dun Dun Duuuuuh!)
How do you know that? You may ask, well this is where Big Data comes in. The National Retail Federation conducts a survey each year to learn about consumer habits surrounds Halloween. This survey provides the NRF with the data they need to determine spending patterns.
This sort of collected data is what informs stores on which brands of candy to stock up on and how much they should expect to make. Many stores rely on the holiday season to make the majority of their yearly revenue, which is why it is important to study the habits of consumers. Stores want to make as many sales as possible which is why it is crucial for stores to know what their customers want in regards to candy, costumes and decorations.
To understand just how much money these stores are making, lets talk more horrifying data about American spending.
Each Halloween Americans spend,
- $2.8 Billion on costumes. More money is spent on adult costumes than for kids!
- $350 Million on pet costumes…. yes costumes for your furry friend.
- $2 Billion on decorations…. I hope people are reusing them the next year!
- $2.2 Billion on candy. Dentists will be getting a flood of new clients soon!
Although these numbers are astounding, Halloween is an American tradition that 68.5% of our nation celebrates. It is a spooky time of year where people get to be someone or something other than themselves. Kids learn how to share precious possessions such as candy and adults get to excite in some scares.
See how else Big Data is helping the retail industry learn about consumers and better service their needs.
by Stephanie Rabinowotz | Oct 26, 2015 | Predictive Analytics
Early this morning South Asia was hit with a massive 7.5 earthquake. The quake centered in Afghanistan and rattled neighboring countries including Pakistan and India. There have been 180 people reported dead and hundreds injured by the earthquake. Included in this death toll are twelve young girls who were trampled when trying to evacuate their school.
Could these deaths have been prevented?
What if the people of Afghanistan knew there would be an earthquake coming their way?
Is it possible to predict the wrath of mother nature?
With the help of Big Data Analytics- Yes these things are possible.
Innovative companies such as Terra Seismic are revolutionizing the way we look at earthquake data. We have always relied on gathering data after a quake to try to connect patterns and predict the next big occurrence. Terra Seismic has implemented satellite data to predict large earthquakes before they happen, allowing people to prepare themselves.
Terra Seismic is still relatively new and continues to improve the way we foresee these devastating events, but they have already correctly predicted more than a few quakes including the one that hit the Indonesia Island of Sumatra in March earlier this year. I am not sure if the earthquake that rocked South Asia this morning was predicted, but if it was, how might the repercussions be different?
Besides the massive hit the economy takes when faced with the damages of a natural disaster, many people suffer injuries, lose their homes and often times become homeless. If the people of South Asia had been warned about the earthquake that was coming their way, they could have protected themselves better. People could have avoided being near the less developed areas that are home to very unstable structures. Schools could have practiced evacuation drills to prevent the widespread panic that claimed the lives of those poor twelve girls. Hospitals could have been stocked, staffed and ready.
It is hard to say if we can truly ever be prepared for a natural disaster, but with the developing technology and Big Data available, we have a much better chance at less devastating effects than we ever have before.
Learn how big data is helping track and predict the patterns of other natural disasters in this informative article.
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