83% of Technology and Business Stakeholders Capture IoT Data, 8% Make the Most of It

• Posted: September 28, 2015

The intersection of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data has great business impact potential. This article by Chuck Martin, writing for Media Post, presents findings from the study “IoT Meets Big Data and Analytics.”  This study, conducted by Dimensional Research for ParStream, sought to understand the stakeholder experiences and challenges related to IoT. The study presents the results of an online survey of 200 business people with professional responsibility for IoT projects.

Among the findings:

-While 83% of these stakeholder collect data, only 8% are making the most of it by fully capturing and analyzing it in a timely fashion.

-77% view data collection and analysis as important in their IoT projects.

-44% believe there is too much data to analyze effectively.

-36% feel that it is difficult to capture useful data.

-34% of the respondents either don’t store or don’t analyze any IoT data.

If the challenges involved in IoT projects could be resolved:

-76% of respondents would collect and store more data.

-70% believe they would make improved business decisions if they were able to capture and store data faster and more cost effectively.

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6 Observations From a New Survey on the State of Big Data Analytics

• Posted: September 21, 2015

A new survey of 316 executives from large global companies provides a current view of the state of big data analytics implementations.  The survey was conducted by Forbes Insights and sponsored by Teradata in partnership with McKinsey.  

Gil Press, writing for Forbes, presents highlights from this survey:

-”The hype gone, big data is alive and doing well.”

About two-thirds of respondents report that big data and analytics initiatives have had a significant and measurable impact on the revenues of their organizations.

-”The right organizational culture is key to big data success.”

51% of executives surveyed reported that adapting and refining a data-driven strategy is the single biggest cultural barrier.

-”Big data is top of mind when the CEO loves data.”

Organizations led by CEOs who personally focus on big data initiatives view big data as the single most important way to gain competitive advantage.

-”Going from the right attitude to the right action is a long big data journey.”

48% of executives surveyed consider making fact-based business decisions based on data as a key strategic challenge.

-”There’s gold in them thar brontobyte data mountains.”

Big data is driving opportunities for innovation in three key key areas: creating new business models (54%), discovering new product offers (52%), and monetizing data to external companies (40%).

-”Big data miners still very much wanted.”

Hiring talent with the right set of skills and experiences is challenging.

 

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Data is the Next Big Thing in Content Marketing

• Posted: September 21, 2015

Alexandra Samuel, writing for the Harvard Business Review analyzes data journalism, which the author views as an important trend.  Data journalism draws on the growing availability of data sets and data analysis tools to uncover and tell stories.  Big data offers marketers the opportunity to develop data-driven stories involving new insights, to tell stories in a compelling manner, and to have the stories disseminated via social media.

However, Samuel points out that data visualizations driven by original data are rare.  While infographics are frequently used by corporations and marketers, these infographics do not focus on original data-driven content.

Benefits of offering data as a content marketing resource include:

-Increased traffic: data visualizations and reports are likely to be shared on social media.

-Value: by offering unique information and actionable insights, the company’s content will provide value.

-Authority: by offering a report or infographic with new information or key trends, the company’s expertise is highlighted.

-Learning: by releasing some of the corporation’s data in a form that readers can use to create their own charts or analyses, new insights may be revealed.

-Transparency: by offering information on the patterns revealed by consumer data, brands can help consumers feel more comfortable with the use of their personal data.

Samuel feels that some companies have successfully used their own data to drive original stories, such as OKCupid, General Electric, Kickstarter, and Jawbone.  However, the potential of data-driven marketing is not being fully utilized by most companies.

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For more on this topic, check out the Marketing Tab in Morning Coffee.

 

 

Big Data: Too Many Answers, Not Enough Questions

• Posted: August 31, 2015

In this Forbes article, Bernard Marr reminds readers that data on its own is meaningless. To avoid drowning in data, and for data to be useful, marketers must first know what data is needed.  Otherwise, too much data will obscure the needed answers.

Marr stresses the importance of starting with a strategy and identifying the right questions. Know what you are trying to achieve, then develop the questions to which answers are needed.

By knowing the critical questions, the data needed to answer those questions can be accurately identified. By following this process, you will be able to improve performance and harness the primary power of data.  Decision-making will be supported by the data developed by asking the right questions

Marr concludes that data is a strategic asset, but it must be used constructively and appropriately, as he has outlined above, in order to deliver optimal results.

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