Pitney Bowes Inc., provider of technology solutions for all size firms that help them to connect with customers to build loyalty and grow revenue, announced the launch of the Spectrum® Spatial platform. It’s a platform built on MapInfo technology that delivers advanced location intelligence that enable businesses to centrally manage and deliver location data. Companies can apply this technology across departments and applications to address diverse business challenges.

To read more, visit the following link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pitney-bowes-launches-new-location-intelligence-platform-to-connect-the-dots-between-data-and-geography-2014-05-08

Location analytics adoption rate is growing rapidly. It's fueled by various trends like: Exposure of geo-coding technology, increasing focus on regulatory requirements, market intelligence and competitive intelligence. Over 80% of all data contains a location component. Location intelligence is easily attained through utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS). Location Analytics helps to visualize & explore relationships within this data and uses the result in decision-making. Location analytics firms are focusing on packaged solutions that can be integrated into other solutions such as workforce management solutions and analytics software.

To read more, visit the following link:http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1905902 

New technologies are emerging and along with that various analytics tools are also developing. Unlike previously, where building predictive models would take as long as twelve months, it now takes only a day or a week, provided you have the right information in your hands.

 But, wait. Your task does not finish here. You have just built a predictive model. The main thing is how you implement it. Properly deploying your model must be made in a systematic approach, as otherwise, can take months. You have to keep in mind that you have to implement your model in the real world.

How to go about it? Read these tips: http://www.banktech.com/business-intelligence/5-tips-for-operationalizing-analytics/240168237 .

Business leaders have embraced big data like never before. They believe that big data will bring miracles and will bring fortunes to their company. But, take a note - everything is not done by big data. If you do nothing, and sit on high hopes that big data will solve all problems, then you are wrong - instead of simplifying, big data will make your tasks more complex.

One thing you have to remember is that, although usage of big data has spurted, there are several analytical softwares that can give valuable outputs like how to become more competitive in the market or how to deliver better products and services, but still human intervention is necessary. Unless and until you guide your big data, it will not help you.

So, do not get lost in the midst of big data and take the right path to realize its full value and potential. Here are the ways you can do so: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-things-you-shouldnt-expect-big-data-to-do/# .

As a service provider, it is true that if you see your customer churn rate is reducing, then you are satisfied the most. Reason? A small reduction in customer churn rate can improve your profitability by millions.

Studies reveal that if you acquire new customers, it can cost you up to more than five times than to satisfy and retain your existing customers. After all, your existing customers who are like gems to your company,  provide treasures – you can gain deeper insights that will enable you to render better customer service which will create a favorable impact on your revenues. 

For this, you have to study your customers’ behavior. In the past, when technology and data were limited, knowing their behaviors was difficult. But now, with a handful of technologies and big data, you can analyze their behavior easily – even to the extent like at what time do they leave for work, how long it takes them to reach there, etc. By leveraging big data analytics, you can extract information on different metrics, based on which you can fine tune your service offerings according to your customers’ willing.

Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articles/how-big-data-smart-analytics-is-reducing-subscribers-churn/ericssonarticleshow/34166759.cms  to know how big data can help you to reduce your customer churn rate smartly.

Cloud computing enables companies to get agile, leverage infrastructure on demand, and run it like a utility. The cloud environment provides flexibility, scalability and continuous availability with expert services. Rapid prototyping and to solve business process through analysis can be easily done by having access to a cloud environment. While the benefits are many but, the public cloud does not fulfill the needs of individual organizations which need better privacy and data security. In public cloud, many clients can access virtualized services from the same pool of servers and resources, but in private cloud clients mainly access services from a distinct pool of physical computers. Nowadays many organizations opt for a middle way i.e. hybrid cloud solution to avoid disadvantages of private cloud. Please go through the link for more details: http://www.daywatcher.com/what-is-a-private-cloud/

It is of no doubt that Big Data is transforming businesses greatly. But, this advantage is compromising a big issue. Have you guessed it?

Well, as Big Data is growing day by day, privacy and legal concerns have cropped in. So, does that mean you will stop using Big Data? If you do, you will surely fall behind your competitors because this data is now a resource which any marketers can use to gain competitive advantage.

While handling Big Data, the fundamental thing you have to keep in mind is data anonymity that will help you to avoid and tackle privacy and legal problems with Big Data.

To manage risks associated with it, you can follow the guidelines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which includes a Code of Practice on Anonymisation. Kim Walker, partner at law firm Thomas Eggar LLP, talks about them here: http://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Big-data-big-legal-trouble .

If you are a startup and you are worried about your success, then wait. Big Data is here for you to predict your success in business.

To be successful in business, a lot depends on your employees. You need to have the best talents and also ensure that your employee turnover is low. In an era, where you have technology in your hands, and you are surrounded with social networks, looking for right persons for your company and ensuring their satisfaction are not difficult tasks. Also, the good thing is, it is not always that you have to pay for expensive tests and assessments to analyze your employees’ data all the time.

Read more at: http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/05/02/use-big-data-predict-success-startup/  to know how big data can help you in getting the right employees, reduce employee turnover, thereby predicting success of your startup.

Previously, I wrote that before stepping into Big Data, you should set up your question first. Now, it’s time for you to get accustomed to it. Every one of us knows that Big Data is changing the world of business. It has reshaped the ways companies normally look for gaining customer insights and is also helping entrepreneurs. But, still there is an important question that needs to be answered. Let’s talk about it.

One of the main advantages of implementing Big Data is that it helps you to take smarter decisions about your product as you get to know lots of customer data. You have to remember that using Big Data should not be expensive.  So the mantra will be - minimum expenditure, maximum benefit. You may be thinking ‘how can it be done? It’s an impossible task!’ But the good news is that it can be done and yes, in a cheaper way. Interested to know? Know the inexpensive ways on how to manage huge data sets and get the maximum out of it here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233280 .

A website is a container of various contents like product or services the organization offers, its mission, vision, values, contact centre etc. Nowadays no business can grow without a properly maintained website. That is where quality of website content comes into play. It is essential to regularly analyze performance of your website content to see what’s working and what hasn't hit the spot. Google analytics site content reports can help you to a great extent for this purpose. Information like which pages getting most of the views, time specific traffic generation, visitor location, entry and exit pages etc will help you to put your effort in a more systematic manner and eventually it will address your thirst for rising above the rest. Anna Lewis, Analyst, Google Analytics, speaks about the benefits of Google Analytics content reports and how it can help you with information on page views, unique page views, Avg. time on page, entrances, bounce rate, exit percentage, page value, content groupings, navigation summary, content drill down etc.

To read more, visit

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2340779/Google-Analytics-Content-Reports-Understanding-the-Key-Benefits

Google released the Dashboard Analytics Solutions Gallery more than a year ago, but marketers are yet to take full advantage of this free resource. Most advanced Google Analytics users have created custom dashboards but few have imported templates from the Solutions Gallery.This reluctance is caused by unavailability of proper support stuff, limited usage process information &preference of custom made solutions etc. However, Google Analytics Solutions Gallerydashboards can be used to find insights and drive more profit.To use it as your advantage, the following steps can be followed:

·         1^st: Decide about what insights you are actually looking for.

·         2^nd: Create new Dashboard & import from Gallery.

·         3^rd:Filter Gallery results by Popularity, Reviews, Category or Type.

·         4^th: View Data, look for insights, & Automate Reporting.

·         5^th: Edit, Customize or Segment Data as required.

To read more, visit the following link:

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2341320/5-Steps-to-Quick-Insights-Using-Google-Analytics-Solutions-Gallery

No matter, how modernized your IT systems are, but data loss is a major problem. And what will happen if you lose your big data?

More companies are keeping on using big data analytics to analyze real time data – and it has gone to such an extent that now, it is most important to your company. To prevent loss of your big data and to ensure that you are not ruined, it is vital that you should have a proper disaster recovery plan of Big Data. Unlike your conventional data, you cannot apply prevalent data recovery practices. You have to keep in mind that you are dealing with big data and so, you need to formulate your plans properly.

Mary Shacklett, president of technology research and market development firm Transworld Data, takes you through some guidelines. Read them at http://www.techrepublic.com/article/stop-procrastinating-formulate-a-big-data-disaster-recovery-plan-today/# .

The power of Big Data is used by many industries ranging from healthcare to finance and automobile manufacturer to government. But, a recent survey showed that the retail sector is not an ardent participant in using big data. Research by eCommera reveals that only 23% of UK retailers are able to interpret data quickly for making business decisions, 16% of them are confident about how to use this data to get a clear picture of their requirement and 50% said that they do not have correct business intelligence tools.

It is data, more appropriately Big Data, which will be the future driver in the retail sector. So, to be able to survive stiff competition, it is vital that you should properly use it and interpret it. The question is how will you progress? You will face challenges and you should overcome it.

So, what are they and how should you mitigate them? Caroline Baldwin from ComputerWeekly.com writes about them here:  http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240218550/Are-retailers-using-data-analytics-to-their-advantage. 

Much is being talked about how to protect our environment. But, have you ever thought that how Big Data can play a major role in it? Certainly not, right?

Well, let me tell you then – Big Data is the future for bringing an eco-friendly environment at a time when all of us are chanting the ‘Go Green’ mantra.  Due to its versatility, Big Data is necessary for various environmental needs. It can help in surveying a large area and can also assist you in monitoring a small city’s water supply. With Big Data enabling you to collect data having no limit, it can be implemented with rapidity and ease. As opposed to traditional ways where analyzing environmental data was a slow and laborious task, you can collect the same information much faster with Big Data leading to application of it in a shorter time.

By tackling the grievous environmental problems like deforestation, oil dumping and more, Big Data can help our environment to paint in green. Read at http://www.bigdata-startups.com/5-ways-big-data-protect-planet/ for more details on this.

News by Ben Sisario, staff reporter of The New York Times, talks about how Twitter’s data pile has immense value to the music industry. He also mentioned that a successful partnership can help in proving its value to musicians beyond its well-known uses for communication and self-promotion.

To know more visit http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/business/media/twitter-and-300-team-up-to-find-musical-talent.html

According to a recent EY (formerly Ernst & Young) survey, very few Indian companies use ‘forensic data analytics’. Seventy-two per cent of the 500-odd companies surveyed believe Big Data has the potential to mitigate frauds. However, only seven per cent are aware of specific Big Data technologies and only two per cent are using such technologies. There are 2 basic reasons behind the sceptical mindset among Indian companies about using big data to detect frauds. First is shortage of big data skilled workers & second is their reluctance to invest in these technologies.

To know more, visit the following link:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/smartbuy/why-we-arent-using-data-analytics-to-detect-fraud/article5897189.ece

A pilot project using predictive analytics and applied natural language processing identified 8,500 patients of Carilion Clinic who are at risk of congestive heart failure. Discrete data points, such as weight and medications, can be found in structured EMR (electronic medical record) fields. Unstructured data includes physicians' notes that are typed or read into a patient's EMR or discharge papers.  The natural language processing technology searched for key words or phrases within the unstructured data as well as in structured data. In all, 20 million documents were analyzed. Because approximately half of all patients who develop heart failure die within five years, according to the “Centre for Disease Control and Prevention”, early identification is essential. About 3,500 of the 8,500 patients Carilion identified as at-risk would not have been found if the project had analyzed only the structured data, according to Steve Morgan, MD and chief medical information officer at Carilion Clinic.

To know more, please visit famous author & reporter Maggie O'Neill’s article by clicking on the following link:

http://www.baselinemag.com/analytics-big-data/analytics-ids-patients-at-risk-for-heart-failure.html/

In the circuit-based telephony world, watching the status of a few thousand network nodes was a satisfactory answer to assuring network health. But today, the number of alarm points to monitor has scaled to the millions. No operator has the money to constantly monitor the performance issues of individual smart phone users. It is time for operators to get real and invest more in proactive analytics than in reactive alarms. What’s more, the gap between network planning and assurance has to be shortened. Why? Because the cause of today’s customer-experience problem is yesterday’s lack of good data for capacity planning.

During a recent conversation with columnist Dan Baker, big data architect Kelvin Hall, reveals about his firsthand experiences of the problems faced by network operations and big opportunities that await them through a greater mastery of analytics techniques. To read more, visit the following link:

http://www.billingworld.com/blogs/baker/2014/04/from-alarms-to-analytics-the-paradigm-shift-in-se.aspx