Here’s a great data visualization on Big Data in retail industry. Also, a FT video on the subject:

Source: Monetate Marketing Infographics

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Just mention the words “Big Data” to any technology entrepreneur or investor and observe how his/her face lights up with excitement. Given the perceived opportunity in Big Data, tech entrepreneurs and investors want to capitalize on it by starting /investing in a Big Data Management, Mining and Analytics business. Is this perceived opportunity in Big Data for real or is it a bubble that will burst soon?

I think the perceived opportunity in Big Data is real and is here to stay as Big Data Mining/Analytics will fundamentally change the way business is done not only online but also offline. Here’s why: Big Data is a key enabler for Social Business and without Big Data Mining/Analytics, a large or medium sized company can neither make sense of all the user generated content online nor can collaborate with  customers, suppliers and partners effectively on Social Media channels. And both of these activities, namely... Read the article

Big Data Analytics is a hot topic of discussion these days. But many feel that it is more of a “hype” and less of substance. In my opinion, Big Data Analytics is the real deal and if used correctly, can deliver great business results at a fraction of cost compared to other alternatives.

Here’s a simple yet very effective example of using analytics for understanding consumer attitudes towards airlines in real time. In this study, Jeffrey Breen has used the R programming language to analyze consumer sentiments about major U.S. airlines expressed on Twitter. For more on the methodology and results, see... Read the article

Big Data Analytics is making big headlines these days. Just check out a few from recent past:

• Big Data — Big Money Says It Is A Paradigm Buster - Forbes.com
• For Start-Ups That Aim at Giants, Sorting the Data Cloud Is the Next Big Thing - The New York Times
• Accel Makes Big Commitment To Big Data With $100M Fund - The Wall Street Journal
• Five startup predictions for 2012 - c|net
• Big Data: Investments Flow into the Next Big Thing - a great post by Dick Weisinger

So what is Big Data and why it is in the news so much these days?... Read the article

As 2011 comes to an end and as we look forward to celebrating New Year 2012, one thing that strikes most looking back is the massive increase in ownership and usage of Smartphones and Tablet computers.

Just consider following headlines in the last few days:

“On Christmas day alone, a total of 6.8 million iOS and Android devices got activated around the world, a 353% increase from Christmas 2010″ (for more, see this link)

 

“Consumers have spent a record $35 billion online shopping ... Read the article

Time flies! Here we are just a day before Christmas and looking back at 2011, I cannot help but wonder at the amazing speed with which the year flew by! 2011 will be remembered for the effective role Social Media played in activist movements across the globe.

Looking at the future, one can see dark clouds on economic horizon given the debt and deficit crisis in Europe and North America. Consumer spending, which has driven economic growth for past several decades given easy availability of inexpensive credit, is drying up as consumers are reluctant to spend given the economic and political uncertainty. As a result, economic growth is almost 0% if not negative and with rising inflation, there is... Read the article

In the industrial age, companies mass produced goods and promoted their products and services through mass media in order to sell them. Customers had little involvement in product creation (other than occasional feedback they provided through marketing research). And if customers had any problem, they contacted a support agent via mail or telephone.

Social media have radically changed this equation between companies and their customers by empowering customers like never before. Customers can discuss about products on social media channels and companies have no control over what customers are saying about their brands.

But instead of engaging customers on social media, most companies still rely on marketing the old fashioned way – a vestige from the... Read the article

Marketing is never a zero sum game. Companies don’t have to lose for customers to win and customers don’t have to lose for companies to win. In fact, marketing is the art and science of finding a win-win approach to business transactions in which both the company and customers win.

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I have been implementing CRM Solutions for a decade, having successfully managed many large CRM projects for Fortune 500 companies in the US with high level of client satisfaction. Yes, you read that right – CRM project client satisfaction is not an oxymoron (it can be done and we even won “Best Project” award to prove it, competing against hundreds of other projects – no small feat in a multi-billion dollar IT services company with projects in a diverse range of technology and where the competition to win this award is intense!)

Given this extensive hands-on experience as program and project manager implementing CRM solutions for some of the largest corporations in the world and having witnessed the CRM revolution from close quarters, right from its inception as eCRM, through growth and maturity phases... Read the article