Author: Chris Coble, ccoble@profitstars.com
Here are some interesting Big Data statistics (source Wikibon):
- Wal-Mart houses transaction data the equivalent of 167 times the information contained in all the books in the U.S. Library of Congress.
- The volume of business data worldwide, across all companies, is estimated to double every 1.2 years.
I get it. Data is growing… fast. But why should I care?
Winston Churchill wrote, “The farther back you look, the farther forward you can see.” People display a pattern of behavior that can be used to predict future outcomes. Your streaming, real-time flow of information can be your crystal ball to drive business growth. Banks and credit unions that mine their data to predict spending habits and better market to their customers (and anticipate new potential customers) will be the big winners here. It’s also possible to prevent fraud, measure productivity, and evaluate performance. Bottom line, if you’re not harnessing your data, you’re missing out (and dropping the crystal ball).
How can you more effectively harness your data? (source Wikibon):
- Poor data can cost businesses 20-35% of their operating revenue.
- Bad data or poor data quality costs U.S. businesses $600 billion annually.
- 29% report that their marketing departments have “too little or no customer/consumer data.” When data is collected by marketers, it is often not appropriate to real-time decision making.
Integration is key! As a financial institution you have many different data sets. Do all of your systems communicate effectively? Are you able to drill down and find real-time information in an efficient way? How long does it take and how many systems do you have to touch? If all your data sets are linked, you should be able to mine your data to get a clear picture of customer patterns and trends.
Conversely, when you have multiple data systems that don’t interface or share a common database, not only is it inefficient (and expensive), you get a fractured image of your clients. You become reactionary instead of proactive to your customer’s needs. Essentially, your crystal ball is cracked and your pie chart is missing pieces. Your data is “small”.
Is it possible for you to convert or merge data sets to get a more holistic view of your client base? Have you considered harnessing special data sets (like remote deposit and mobile banking archives) to glean new customer information? In the age of big data, we must work together to develop new ways for data sets to consolidate and communicate more effectively, to make sure your data is as “Big” as possible.
Related posts:
- Turning Customer Data into a Banking Goldmine with Big Data
- Turning Customer Data into a Banking Goldmine with Big Data
- Turning Customer Data into a Banking Goldmine with Big Data
Original Post: http://discover.profitstars.com/strategicallyspeaking/bid/62647/Big-Trouble-in-Little-Data
Hi Chris – good article!
One of the biggest problems I continue to see in big data isn’t the ability to mine or connect multiple systems – if anything technology has made it much more simple (if not trivial in many cases). The large problem I see is that with increased connectivity comes drastically increased errors. Information can now be connected incorrectly and quickly by end users. These end users are much less likely to use and understand the metadata – assuming you even have decent metadata and that its made available to these users.
This low cost of entry to mining data, which on the surface is a great improvement, is one of the largest risks towards effectively mining big data.