Big data is a term that refers to a significant amount of data touchpoints, captured and ready to be analyzed. With proper java server and infrastructure monitoring in place, this information can be used by businesses to change their offerings or assess customer behavior. It provides insight into things that were unclear before.

Due to its enormity, big data can be extremely complex and challenging to analyze. There are pros and cons to big data management. Here are a few to keep in mind when trying to determine if you’re biting off more than you can chew.

Pros

Identify Behavioral Patterns

Big data goes beyond looking at demographics to identify a target market. You might be able to see that the majority of your customers are men of a certain age category and race, which is simple yet important information. However, big data allows you to drill beyond that and see patterns connecting the various touch points.

While you might easily identify your target market for future marketing endeavors, you might also notice anomalies. For example, your target market might decrease their spending activity at different times of the year, while an entirely different demographic might spike. This information can be used to alter your offerings and campaign to wither make up the gaps or optimize the secondary market.

Highlight Buying Habits

You might also discover buying patterns that highlight related items. For example, you might notice that product A is usually bought separately from product C, but product C is usually bought in conjunction with product C. These data points and related buying habits give you insight into the mind of your customers and create connections you can use to boost your business.

Long-Term Implications

The data you analyze today could shape the business you operate tomorrow. The information you capture can lead to a paradigm shift in the way you run your business and drastically increase your long-term success.

As you continue to capture information, your data continues to grow and evolve. Over time, you will be able to identify not only where your business is now, but how it’s changed and how it will continue to change.

As mentioned previously, having big data is only one side of the equation; it’s how you put it to use that matters. Using it effectively can change your processes and applications, resulting in more efficient business processes, increased sales and revenue, innovation, strategic decision making, and risk assessment. Overall, these small pieces from the bigger puzzle can be reconstructed into an unstoppable business plan.

Cons

So Much Data

Big data is referred to as such for a reason: its enormity. While it is arguably optimal to capture too much data rather than insufficient information, a lot of that data goes to waste. Many organizations invest substantial amounts of resources in being able to capture big data, then get overwhelmed and don’t use it effectively.

Cost and Time

While the cost implications of capturing data are one caveat, the time required to conduct in-depth analytics is another. The main con surrounding big data is that it comes in bulk form. Think about it this way: you buy a massive order of bulk food that you know will feed your family for years to come. However, for it to be stored and used properly, you need to break it all down into small packets, a timely and arduous endeavor.

Most organizations don’t have the resources to be able to pore over the big data for the time it would take to analyze the various touchpoints and connections. Not only is there a seemingly infinite amount of information one could capture, but there’s so much to navigate through to be able to find what you’re looking for that it becomes a full-time job.

Storage

The sheer size of the data you’re capturing takes up space, which can increase your cost investment and information technology support requirements. Most businesses considering investing in big data captures don’t have the servers required to store all the information. Often, they find this out after they start to invest.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

While big data does an incredible job of highlighting patterns and behaviors, if you don’t know what to look for or have unclear goals about data analytics, then you’ll miss a lot. Unless someone has a clear directive about seeing what items people tend to buy together, they might not know to look for it. It can also be challenging to separate causation from correlation in patterns of this magnitude.

Do You Need Big Data?

Big data management is a worthwhile investment if you have defined goals about what it will be used for and make a strategic plan for implementation before diving in. Your business may not need it to survive, but it is an invaluable asset if you want to be at the top of the food chain.