Remember big data?
It was meant to spell out the harnessing of critical data from disparate systems and situating that data into one place for analysis. It was the kind of innocuous term that appeared like nothing more than the latest buzzword we could ignore.
Would you like the truth? Many smallish companies did just that. They gave the concept of large data the cold shoulder. To these, it was merely another fad, a ship passing in the night, barely seen under the light of a pale moon. But, there are vital reasons to listen to large data, even if you’re a tiny guy.
Data Is Incredibly Important
First of all, data — and, even more specifically, an abundance of the”right kind” of information — is the lifeblood of any business. As the old expression goes, “You can not manage what you can’t quantify,” and in today’s world, you can not quantify many meaningful business metrics without information.
Within our super-connected Earth, the information reflects the all-important voice of the client. Not all customer information comes into the ERP system. You must also take into account data from user testimonials and polls from myriad resources such as tweets and other social networking posts.
Think about the demand for your product created by an individual tweet. Whose inventory strategy can react quickly? The opposite is also true. 1 social media post criticizing your product, and also the negative ramifications are swift and severe. Harnessing big data from structured and unstructured information sources resolves these problems to a large extent.
If you’re a small company and you want one good reason to listen to large information, this is: because your biggest competitors do.
Have small companies suffered from a dispassionate approach to large data? They’d probably argue they have not, but I believe that the truth is they have — they will continue to be left behind. This is something small business owners can’t afford to ignore because things have changed. As a small business operator, ignoring big data might be a perilous proposition.
Also read: Privacy For Big Data
In the years because big data first hit the scene, info has largely migrated to the cloud. Following that migration came software plans and, you guessed it, disparate systems to easily swap what we refer to as structured information.
But they will. It is coming, and the companies that capitalize on it is going to cross the finish line.
Another change since large data was introduced is the incredible explosion of new social media platforms. Today, there are over 50 such sites, many of which are located outside the United States.
It’s if you have customers in other countries. Everything that could occur on a social media outlet can function as a powerful validation or criticism of your product or service value. The movies, articles, likes, dislikes, and remarks are what we believe”unstructured data” and are a key component to the huge data equation. If you figure this out, you actually have something. In 2005, just 5% of adults in the U.S. were using social media. Today, that figure is 72%.
‘There Is An App For That’
Since 2005, a phrase has entered everyone’s daily language: “There’s an app for that.” The proliferation of programs for virtually everything has generated countless downloads to perform just about everything from recording calories to telling you when your car requires an oil change.
As you use these programs, they collect and store information. If you are the company deploying the app and you have not determined how to combine the information with your traditional ERP info, you are missing the ship.
Big Data In Today’s World
Still not convinced that big data is vital? Consider this season, COVID-19 has created a new normal for the whole planet. Your company is most likely functioning in part or entirely liberally. Measuring productivity and customer satisfaction just became more challenging. How can you take the data from conferencing apps and your customers’ sentiments in the above societal networking outlets and exploit them in conjunction with your ERP data? The world and the way we operate has changed forever.
Also read: The ‘Failure’ Of Big Data
Just ask anybody who has had trouble purchasing toilet paper as of late. All of the structured and unstructured data we’ve discussed, coupled with world events like pandemics, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns, and war, can interrupt supply chains directly and indirectly. Critical business purposes such as determining points of manufacture and distribution as well as levels of stock are affected. The good thing is that exploiting all of the available data in concert with supply chain optimization software and appropriate expertise can mitigate risk to your company.
New technologies and other world events will always serve to create new data challenges for small business owners. Will you be ready? Bear in mind, the ability to gather data from disparate sources and examine it for a tactical conclusion is the key to the gold mine. Your job is to get there before the competition.
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