Big Data Outsourcing Prerequisites

Big data has become a holy grail for businesses today. In today’s age where it hardly takes time for terabytes to become petabytes, Big Data Analytics has become crucial for a business to succeed. Each day, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created, according to IBM. IDC predicts that 1.8 zettabytes—that’s 1.8 trillion gigabytes—of information created last year will grow by a factor of nine over the next five years.

Big data analytics is imperative to business strategy and with a surge in quantity of data, businesses are considering to Big Data Outsourcing.

It is tricky to find the right partners and working with them to achieve expected results. Here are a few prerequisites to keep in mind while considering Big Data Outsourcing.

1) Ensure Big Data analytics benefits your business

While all businesses benefit from data based decisions, Big Data is more specific and some businesses, by their very nature won't really need to worry about it. For example, if your business is just starting out, or it does not generate terabytes of data yearly, you can still work with Microsoft Excel and make data based decisions.

2) Develop a culture of evidence based decision making

Big Data is merely a tool. Unless there is a culture of listening to data, instead of to the gut while making decisions, no amount of analytics will have any impact on your bottom line. Before considering a move to Big Data analytics, review whether you are utilizing the data and insights generated by conventional tools like ERP and CRM suites.

3) Clean Raw Data

Garbage in, garbage out: the insights from analytics will be as good as the quality of the raw data analysed. If you don't have data governance systems in place, and if you don't clean up the data before handing it off to be analysed, you will get results that make no sense.

4) Consistent Business Rules

Do you have systems and processes in place that take the human factor out of routine decision making? Is there a consistent policy on discounts and rebates that are offered to customers, or is it left to the whims and fancies of individual employees? Is there a return policy, and is it strictly followed? Without such rules, insights from analytics would be wasted.

Big Data can help small businesses punch above their weight and corner a disproportionate share of the market. But for it to truly make an impact in revenues and profits you will have to get your house in order first.