September - 2015 - Special issue > In My Opinion
Is Big Data a Big Deal? 3 Ways to Make Data & Analytics Work for Your Business
By Srikant Gokulnatha, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Numerify
The allure of big data is undeniable. With the promise of accelerating innovation and bringing products to market more quickly, companies have sought ways to leverage big data to gain a competitive edge. However, businesses must also consider how big data fits in with their specific business model, if at all. While big data approaches are essential to highly-connected enterprises like Amazon that are constantly generating and driven by enormous amounts of information, that doesn't mean big data is appropriate for every organization.
Is Big Data For You?
You've got lots of data, and it's tempting to wonder what hidden answers will reveal themselves once the right systems are in place. But does it make sense to apply the same techniques that have worked for the biggest web-scale companies?
Let's first clarify what we mean by big data. While scale is key, it also entails the coupling of powerful databases with information storage technology and analytical tools. Moreover, it typically involves a high level of automation via algorithms to generate correlations and extract insights beyond human effort.
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