Big Data -1. Big Data Revealed How You Can Be Benefited From Baby Diapers!
I wonder if any Qatar based company uses Big Data for their business management. I guess even some of them might use reticently but most of them still not even aware of it at all. However here I am going to publish a series of short articles which might come useful for the companies who still not aware of Big Data Potential. Well the initial question might like, WHAT IS “BIG DATA” ANYWAY?
According to Wikipedia it is…
“Big data is a term for data sets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate to deal with them. Challenges include analysis, capture, data curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, querying, updating and information privacy.”
Does it make sense? If not enough then read my favorite one that I often point as the “practical” definition to Big Data…
Big data is a term used to describe the collection, processing and availability of huge volumes of streaming data in real-time. Companies are combining marketing, sales, customer data, transactional data, social conversations and even external data like stock prices, weather and news to identify correlation and causation statistically valid models to help them make more accurate decisions.
Yeah that’s glittering? Now this is time to see one practical example of Big Data…
Back in 1980 Wall Street shop keepers start complaining that every Saturday they find lowest sales than other days of a week! But surprising fact is their accountants report revenue of Saturday is just as usual as other days of week! That was pretty amazing! However some shopkeepers agreed to exchange their daily sales data to reveal actually what was getting traction and what is happening overall. The result of accumulation was pretty ridiculous! When they did some joint surveys they found every Saturday moms are buying baby diapers and putting those diapers in front of shops to be picked up by their husbands! For some unknown reasons parents were buying baby diapers only on Saturday. They were spending their outmost daily budget on baby diapers at Saturday so even though sales revenue from other products were down still gross sale is indicated as usual as other days of week.
Actually this small piece of data can be extremely beneficial if you are willing to run a data driven business. Depending on this information you can take decision to store more diapers than any other products on Saturday. This might even increase your gross revenue at the end of the week. Therefore decisions can be influenced by Big Data. Larger companies already realized it that’s why they are putting a lot of money to get data from social medias and statistical consulting firms.
On my next article I would point 10 practical advantages of Big Data which would put you 10 years ahead of your competitors.
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Excellent info ............. thanks .................