Description:

Leverage big data to add value to your business

Social media analytics, web-tracking, and other technologies help companies acquire and handle massive amounts of data to better understand their customers, products, competition, and markets. Armed with the insights from big data, companies can improve customer experience and products, add value, and increase return on investment. The tricky part for busy IT professionals and executives is how to get this done, and that's where this practical book comes in. Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business is a complete how-to guide to leveraging big data to drive business value.

Full of practical techniques, real-world examples, and hands-on exercises, this book explores the technologies involved, as well as how to find areas of the organization that can take full advantage of big data.

• Shows how to decompose current business strategies in order to link big data initiatives to the organization’s value creation processes
• Explores different value creation processes and models
• Explains issues surrounding operationalizing big data, including organizational structures, education challenges, and new big data-related roles
• Provides methodology worksheets and exercises so readers can apply techniques
• Includes real-world examples from a variety of organizations leveraging big data

Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business is written by one of Big Data's preeminent experts, William Schmarzo. Don't miss his invaluable insights and advice.

From the Back Cover

For decades, all of the technologies that organizations used to measure and forecast their operations were a small niche in enterprise computing. That situation reversed itself a few years ago, and now the inevitable emergence of big data demands clear thinking and advice.

Bill Schmarzo is the real deal. He shares his experience and know-how freely in a book that lays it out without hype."
—Neil Raden, CEO & Principal Analyst, Hired Brains Research

Big Data offers good sense, practical guidance, and pragmatism in what is at present a confused, confusing, and overly theoretical area. Anyone venturing into the big data outback would do well to stick Bill's book in their backpack."
—Marc Demarest, CEO and Principal, Noumenal, Inc.

Bill is a leading voice in big data technology and the impact to business, and is referred to in the industry as 'the Dean of Big Data.' If you want the straight scoop on how and what to do with big data, read Bill's book."
—John Furrier, Founder and CEO, SiliconANGLE Media, and co-host of @theCUBE

Learn to leverage big data and boost business value

Big data is more than another hot technology trend. In fact, it's as much about business transformation as about technology. It's about leveraging the unique, actionable insights gleaned about your customers, products, and operations to rewire your value creation process and optimize your key business initiatives. Big data is about making money.

This book tackles big data business opportunities head-on. You'll find practical advice, techniques, methodologies, downloadable worksheets, and many examples gained from years of working with some of the world's leading analytics-driven organizations. You'll learn to:

• Leverage the Big Data Business Maturity Index to identify where and how big data can deliver meaningful business value
• Identify the "right" metrics against which to measure the success of your big data initiative
• Understand key big data technologies and advanced analytic developments
• Leverage industry standard value creation models such as Michael Porter's Five Forces and Value Chain to identify how the big data business drivers can impact your organization's key business processes
• Summarize big data best practices, approaches, and value creation techniques into a Big Data Storymap to guide your organization

About the Author

Bill Schmarzo is the Chief Technology Officer for EMC Global Services' Enterprise Information Management & Analytics service line. Nicknamed the Dean of Big Data, he is responsible for setting strategy for EMC's big data consulting business. He created the Business Benefits Analysis methodology and has served on the faculty of The Data Warehouse Institute.