Finding balance between data size and analytical modeling needs can be a problematic process in big data analytics. But it is essential for the success of big data analytics projects. The size of big data sources at social networking companies can obstruct analytics efforts. So, restraining the opportunity of an analysis by using data sampling techniques can be helpful. On the other hand, there are many businesses that lack the data needed to answer key business questions. For those organizations, development of effective analytical models can only take place after new data types are acquired and their analytics infrastructure is built. To know more, go through the article by Ed Burns (site editor of SearchBusinessAnalytics) at: http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/feature/Balance-required-between-big-data-volume-analytics-needs

Nowadays, analytics is a key factor in sports industry. Analyst is part of any team whether it is a baseball team or an international soccer team. Yet, some sports team does not appreciate the value of analytics in the sports industry. Lloyd Melnick (CEO of fiveonenine games), in his article writes about some lessons on how sports teams use analytics that are relevant to all businesses which Davenport (Author of the book: Competing on Analytics) concluded. To know more about these lessons, follow: http://lloydmelnick.com/2014/09/04/lessons-from-sports-analytics/

A data-centric management culture is as important as the technology investments in a company. Data science i.e. the extraction of useful information and knowledge from data is considered to be within the operational structure of financial technology organizations. For most financial services organizations, 60 to 65 percent of IT budgets are dedicated to maintaining the core transaction processing systems. After general operating and personnel costs are deducted, less than 10 percent of the budget is left for new systems development. To know more about how these companies who are trying to incorporate data analytics processing, go through the article by Don Campbell (Managing Principal & Founder, RightCourse) at: http://www.banktech.com/big-data/the-importance-of-fostering-a-data-centric-management-culture-/a/d-id/1315979?piddl_msgid=261430#msg_261430

According to Jayakanthan Chidambaram (Associate Technical Architect, Aspire Systems), sustaining in the market with a persistent growth is considered to be one of the greatest challenges in any industry. Companies are focusing their investments on business intelligence technologies in order to predict behavior and consequences from patterns found in large volumes of data. Predictive analytics transforms data into important and useful information. Data analysis can be broadly categorized into 4 types - Descriptive, Simple Statistical Summations, Prescriptive and Predictive. Personalization based on location, behavior and preferences are driving how organizations should cater to customer needs and grow their business. When organizations adopted Business Intelligence, they took the first step towards understanding what is currently happening in their business. Now is the time to take that maturity to the next level where the need is not only to know what is happening but also be able to predict what is about to happen. Read more at: http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/298003/predictive-analytics-future-business-intelligence?utm_source=referrence_article

According to Stephanie Miller (customer advocate and a champion for marketers), to develop the results of content marketing, one needs to apply an analytics-based approach that focuses on topic, network and content. Choice, Customization, Connect and Communicate. By concentrating on these four "Cs" marketers can evolve from offers to solutions. Yet, at the end of the day there are performance metrics to be met and revenue targets to be reached. A successful content program will also invest in analytics to ensure that one is using the messaging, offers, format, and channels most likely to drive the major visitors and interactions. There is never a data quantity problem as such. The best results will come from a blended approach of channels and content types that are both satisfactory to the most valuable client members as well as wide-ranging enough to appeal to all other customers. Read more at: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2371279/content-and-analytics-a-strategic-combination

According to Dermot O'Kelly (Senior Vice President for Oracle UK, Ireland and Israel region) for the past few years the stage is being set for an analytics based future in which large volumes of valuable information can be collected and used to take informed decisions more efficiently. The rise of big data has been rapid. But very little emphasis has been placed on trying to understand exactly how big data can impact and improve our lives. Big data tools help in linking all information together and assess it from various standpoints at once in the hope of detecting new insights, to approach difficult questions from a fresh angle, or to process huge data sets very quickly. They also make the collection and processing of this data exponentially faster than before. Read more at: http://www.in.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/Big-data-in-the-real-world/articleshow/42649169.cms

There is an increased demand for surveillance systems by civil and government agencies which has given rise to the global market for facial recognition. This is due to growing number of crimes and terrorist activities globally. Furthermore, acceptance of facial recognition in the entertainment industry and consumer electronics is expected to raise the demand for this kind of technology. Its international market comprises of 2D facial recognition, 3D facial recognition, and facial analytics. The demand for these facial recognition technologies is further influenced by increasing demand from various other industries like retail, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), and others. The global facial recognition market is dominated by players that develop facial recognition technology solutions. Read more at: http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/09/16/global-facial-recognition-market-an-overview-of-growth-factors-and-future-prospe-a-555987.html#.VBkPJPmSzo4

According to Jason Bowden (a contributor to Business 2 Community), branding is a means by which a company is able to build their own identity and to communicate what their products and services are. In order to promote branding, brand managers always try to point out that their marketing campaign's focus is on consumers. These brand companies can learn more about their target customers with the help of big data analysis. The entry of data provides plentiful information that helps these companies in determining the various aspects that will yield better profit. Big data provide a window of opportunity for brand companies to know what products their target customers want. By instilling big data analytics, it is easier for marketers to know about their competitors and thus improve their digital marketing. There are other benefits in using big data. To know more about these benefits, follow: http://www.business2community.com/big-data/infusion-brand-marketing-big-data-analytics-0994537

Big data generated by drones is useful in every sector including monitoring data of animal cruelty on farms and surveillance data from military drones. The drones' usage needs a revolution in big data cloud services. However, flying a drone and taking pictures is the first step in data collection process. Since software to reason directly from video feeds is still in a research phase, drone data handling needs to be improved. The use of a cloud-based in-memory computing platform can enhance analytics, processes, and predictive capabilities. Amazon recently proposed to increase sales and revenue by providing the delivery of food using drones. By gathering data on a large scale, service providers will be able to process unique levels of details and turn it into usable information. To know more, go through Abhishek Sharma (author of InfoQ)'s article: http://www.infoq.com/news/2014/09/drone-data-big-data-analytics

There is no privacy in the era of big data. Personal data is collected and traded and there are few ways to control it. "We're being monetized in essence. We are being mobilized as products with inducement of the services of we use such as Facebook and Twitter" says Rob Livingstone, a fellow of the University of Technology and the Head of a Business Advisory Firm. However, major problem that regulators are facing is - how they can regulate the collection, storage and trading of personal data on the internet, when all of these activities, and corporations, operate across multiple continents and jurisdictions. Read more at: http://analytics.theiegroup.com/article/53a4371c3723a8398400014e/Little-Privacy-In-The-Age-Of-Big-Data

Information available about consumers on the web is enough to scare marketers. There are large rewards for those who confront and harness big data. Big data can create problem for brands. Information collected from large, complex data sets weblogs, social media, smartphone analytics and even medical records is difficult for brands to manage and process within traditional database systems. According to a report from the McKinsey Global Institute, Big Data is the next big thing for innovation, competitive advantage and productivity. But, some companies are missing this opportunity because of a lack of data management expertise. Retail is one industry that has a great potential for big data. Customer transactions (on & offline), conversations and intentions can all be brought together so that brands can get ideas how to reach potential consumers. Read more at: http://analytics.theiegroup.com/article/53a2f6693723a807f3000029/Big-Data-Embracing-The-Elephant-In-The-Room

According to Tor Constantino (Director, Global Public Relations and External Affairs at IMS Health) Nexxus Mobile Sales is the first complete cloud-based sales performance which aids companies to implement national brand strategies at local levels by linking updated industry and customer data with expert decision-support tools for sales representatives. IMS Health provides life sciences commercial organizations with a new app for driving actual, smart local customer engagement. For increased productivity in the field, Mobile Sales issues alerts to the sales representatives about specific territory and customer opportunities and incorporates advanced voice-command technology to provide easy access to all solution features. As a result, sales teams can deliver greater value and spend more time with customers. Read more at: http://www.imshealth.com/portal/site/imshealth/menuitem.c76283e8bf81e98f53c753c71ad8c22a/?vgnextoid=70f32cf8cb7a7410VgnVCM10000076192ca2RCRD&vgnextchannel=5ec1e590cb4dc310VgnVCM100000a48d2ca2RCRD&vgnextfmt=default

A B2B based Cloud network called AutoDX (Auto Data Exchange) was recently implemented by IBM for Indian Auto industry. This electronic data exchange platform reduces the auto industry's transaction costs by 80%. This is useful because until this deployment the whole auto industry was using manual processes which were very inefficient. AutoDX is an example of how organizations in the same domain can come together and share cloud to reap benefits. Such cloud platforms can be useful as cloud has potential to reduce costs. To know more, go through Vipin Chandran (Member of Integration Services team of IBM DemandTec)'s article link: http://www.indiaonward.com/how-beneficial-could-a-multi-tenant-private-cloud-be/

According to Ajay Kulkarni (the development leader of Social Business and Digital Experience portfolio at IBM India Software Labs) there are numerous challenges in reforming the Retail sector even though it is currently going through an incredible change technology-wise. The first one is FDI in Multi-Brand Retail. The main argument against Retail FDI is loss of jobs. The second is the co-existence of global supermarkets and small Kirana shops. Traders in Kirana stores, vegetable shops and even consumers use easy Social Media tools like Skype and WhatsApp. However, they need to be more equipped to face competition. The e-retail business in India is still nascent but is growing at a fast pace with the help social media platforms. Read more at: http://www.indiaonward.com/social-business-will-transform-the-indian-retail-industry/

Enterprise cloud computing provides a clear path to CRM success. Today, however there are at least two major problems in operating with highly data-driven intelligence. Firstly, CRM databases start empty and secondly it isn't very intelligent. It is therefore time to re-imagine how businesses operate. In a world where we have lot of data points, outcomes should be accurately predicted. The next generation of CRM should monitor website updates, news, public filings, social networks, technology vendors, job openings and new hires. To know more, go through Jamie Grenney (Vice President of Marketing at Infer)'s article link: http://gigaom.com/2013/09/02/what-will-crm-look-like-in-2015/

A computer technology company wanted an automatic solution to classify customer problems and complaints that were posted on the company's Tech Forums as well as agent transcripts associated with customer calls that were stored in databases. It wanted a "text mining and codification engine" to which Natural Language Processing could be applied to categorize conversations automatically and thus aid Microsoft in analyzing text data objectively and quantitatively. The solution provided had four major milestones: Data Access, Data Loading, Classification Design, Development Accuracy, and Validation Accuracy. The text mining framework provided was able to categorize the texts automatically into five stages of classification. Thus with the assurance of accurate results, the company was able to take quick informed decisions based on customer feedback. Read more at: http://analyticsindiamag.com/advanced-text-mining-by-extracting-insights-from-various-forums-helps-in-addressing-and-analyzing-customer-feedback/

According to author Shreya Sharma, with Big Data becoming an essential part of an organization, it is getting harder to balance it with data privacy. Marketers should be clear about the data they are collecting and make sure that data storage and security infrastructure are safeguarded, otherwise it can have serious effects on the company as most consumers expect a company to protect their personal data, and their consuming behavior depends on this. It is therefore crucial to bear a high level of awareness with regards to the significance of data privacy and protection. The responsibility should be seen as norm and not just be restricted to people who are directly involved in mining big data. To know more, please follow: http://analyticsindiamag.com/in-action-how-companies-should-follow-a-data-centric-security-approach/

Big data enables understanding of complex customer sentiments and intent which improves service management. Today it is easier to process customer sentiments and intents through social media and develop social customer relationship management or social CRM. To make this effective it is important to capture the natural language knowledge and rapidly and securely making those insights available to tye best pay off channels. 

This podcasts bring together customer analytics services provider Attensity, with its natural language processing technology, and HP Vertica with Big data analytics capabilities to explain how effectively listen to social Web and rapidly gaining valuable insights and actionable intelligence.

Some participants are Howard Lau, chairman and CEO of Attensity, and Chris Selland, vice president of marketing and business development at HP Vertica. The discussion is moderated by Dana Gardener, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions.

more at: http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/80826.html

Big Data is about making something out of enormous and high speed structured data as well as unstructured data, but most organizations do not have a business case for the use of Big Data and invariably, a not so conducive culture to leverage Big Data technologies. The main area of focus in India seems to be-Real Time Reporting on Transaction Systems. Through the partitioning/ clustering, distributed computing and in-memory processing methods, Big Data can run high quality real-time reports, with the ability to drive additional queries. But it will be not be the best use case for Big Data. If we focus on this use case, Information Technology will just end up being a cost center. Big Data investments should address either the fraud prevention story that helps the bottom-line, or the customer offer story that helps the top line of a company. The immediate need however is to get the data fixed to achieve the goal. Data quality continues to remain a huge challenge across more than 80 percent of the mid and large organizations. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/297428/companies-artists

Ever since the video gaming industry has entered the online space, this fast-paced industry is almost bursting. Bringing in about $20 billion of revenue a year in the U.S. market alone, this industry is now scaling new heights with vast data out-pours and advances in big data analytics. In the world of online and offline video games, joystick movements and every interactive step is a source of valuable data-points, which can deliver fascinating solutions for enhancing gamer experience and increasing revenue streams. The world of games is like any other form of entertainment-it requires addictive rewards to make the gamers come back again and again. According to reliable market reports, a large, video-game manufacturer has the potential to generate around 50 terabytes of data each day. In US, the gaming industry is certainly bigger than the movie industry in terms of revenue generation. Now that this prolific industry is rapidly embracing big data technologies, the industry is expected to make waves in novel methods of customer engagement, optimized and targeted advertising, and enhance the end-user experience.

Read more at: http://www.mapr.com/blog/big-data-revolutionizing-video-game-industry#.U-d_4vmSxvM