Information Security Forum and Big Data Analytics - Are SMBs Included?

Popular buzzwords in the Information Security Forum currently include “big data” analytics and processing. However, just like the supercomputers of a few generations back were confined to (very) large or wealthy organizations, is “big data” perhaps too big for the typical smaller business?

Not necessarily. IT solution providers for SMBs can still work with them to develop business opportunities by leveraging a few basic ideas.

Easy to Generate, Less Easy to Analyze

First of all, let’s define the “big data” discussed here.

The term refers to the huge amount of digital information that is gathered every day as companies do business.

The tools for measuring and collecting data, certainly concerning online interactions, are often accessible to any organization, whatever its size. Daily details on the behavior of website visitors are an example.

On the other hand, solutions for measuring all that volume of data collected over the last 12 months can carry very different price tags.

Two Possibilities for SMBs to Start Working with Big Data

According to the ease of acquisition of big data relevant to an SMB (or any other organization):

1. Use the existence itself of the data as a starting point for a discussion about potential projects and developments within the client’s company, as well as relevant points from the Information Security Forum to help get things rolling

2. Target projects with more immediate paybacks, such as improved sales through the analysis of relevant customer data. E-commerce website data may, for example, show that customers delaying a final step beyond “X” seconds are less likely to make a purchase. In that case, change the website to have encouraging messages appear just before the “fatal timeout.”

How do your customers ask you for information-driven improvements in their profits and performance? Tell us about what you hear in the Comments space below.

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