Bill Franks's Blog: Analytics Matters, page 11

What Does Taming Big Data Really Cost?

I’ve written in the past about the hype that surrounds big data. Perhaps one of the most ridiculous urban legends out there today is that working with big data is cheap. This myth is largely driven by the fact that some big data tools,such as Hadoop, don’t come with a license fee.

Before I get started, let me be clear on one thing. Open source products such as Hadoop have many uses and can play important roles in the development of analytic processes. Plus, us stats geeks love to download usef...

Is Big Data Changing The Business You Are In Without You Realizing It?

Throughout my career, one of the primary ways to classify a company has been its industry. Knowing a company’s industry gave you a solid start on understanding the company. From an analytics perspective, you could make highly accurate assumptions about what data an organization would have, what problems it was trying to solve, and what types of analytic processes would be beneficial for the organization’s business.

I have noticed a trend forming where these historical industry classifications...

Big Data Analytics Doesn’t Have To Be The Wild West

To many, big data feels like the wild west; little or no structure or standards and an unclear picture of how to use the data for analysis. Will there ever be a day when big data will become easier to work with?

Yes!!! In fact, you can begin to standardize and simplify your use of big data today, even in cases where you don’t control the input stream. To understand how, it is important to consider the maturity curve for any new data source or analytic process.

The Maturity Curve For Analytic Pr...

Assumptions Can Be Risky In A Big Data World

Any new analytic process will include assumptions about a wide range of areas including what actions will realistically be considered based upon the results, what metrics or methodologies will be best to utilize, and also what initial values to set for any inputs such as inflation rates. When working with familiar data and problems, your confidence in, and the validity of, the assumptions made are probably fairly sound. After all, you’ve tested and validated those assumptions. However, when y...

Helpful or Creepy? Avoid Crossing The Line With Big Data

One of the most discussed concerns surrounding big data today is privacy. While many powerful analytics are possible with the detailed data that is now collected on each of us, the sensitive nature of much of that data requires rethinking data practices and applications. This can include everything from how data is stored, to the nature of privacy policies, to the legal ramifications of the storage and use of data.

When it comes to deciding how your organization will develop privacy policies f...

Is Big Data Changing The Business You Are In Without You Realizing It?

Throughout my career, one of the primary ways to classify a company has been its industry. Knowing a company’s industry gave you a solid start on understanding the company. From an analytics perspective, you could make highly accurate assumptions about what data an organization would have, what problems it was trying to solve, and what types of analytic processes would be beneficial for the organization’s business.

What Does Taming Big Data Really Cost?

I’ve written in the past about the hype that surrounds big data. Perhaps one of the most ridiculous urban legends out there today is that working with big data is cheap. This myth is largely driven by the fact that some big data tools,such as Hadoop, don’t come with a license fee.

Analytic Teams Are Rapidly Reaching Critical Mass

Over the past year, I have seen a very positive and encouraging shift in my discussions with organizations about the analytic talent that they employ. More and more discussions are about how to best structure an analytics organization as many companies have now found themselves with enough analytic professionals to make it necessary to figure out how to make the most of them. The speed of the shift from “should we hire anyone?” to “how do I organize all these people?” has surprised me. We are...

Big Data and the Analytics Arms Race

You think big data is big today? Just wait until next year…or the year after that…or the year after that. It is growing exponentially. Whatever seems big now will likely seem relatively small just a short time from now. My inner analytics geek is thrilled when several times per week I see an article or have a discussion that calls my attention to yet another company or industry with yet another source of data growing explosively. It is just amazing how quickly these sources of data are growin...

Perfect Information Doesn’t Equal Perfect Predictions

Many organizations attempt to achieve “data nirvana” by having 100% complete information for any given business decision. In the customer analytics space, this is sometimes referred to as a “360 degree view of the customer.” However, we really never know everything about our customers. What we call a 360 degree view is really just the most complete view we have at any given time. All of the information we are missing must be inferred or assumed through analytics. The more complete our picture...