Big data and its implications will have an impact on every business in several important ways.
1. Data will become an asset to every business.
Even the smallest businesses generate data these days. If the business has a website, a social media presence, accepts credit cards etc., even a one-person shop has data it can collect on its customers, its user experience, web traffic, and more. This means companies of all sizes need a strategy for big data and a plan of how to collect, use, and protect it. This also means that savvy businesses will start to offer data services to even very small companies.
2. Big data will enable companies to collect better market and customer intelligence.
Like it or not, the companies you do business with know a lot about you ? and the quantity and diversity of what they know about you is increasing every year. Every company (from car manufactures who will monitor our driving to tennis racket manufacturers that know how often and how well we play) will get much better insights into what customers want, what they will use, what channels they use to buy, and so on.
3. It will improve internal efficiency and operations
From using sensors to track machine performance, to optimising delivery routes, to better tracking employee performance and even recruiting top talent, big data has the potential to improve internal efficiency and operations for almost any type of business and in many different departments.
Companies can use sensors to track shipments and machine performance, but also employee performance.
Data is also becoming an integral part of every department in a company.
4. Data will allow companies to improve the customer experience and build big data into their product offering.
In the best of all possible worlds, companies will use the data they collect to improve their products and the customer experience.
