How’s your company’s social intelligence? Ask a roomful of business leaders that question, and you’re likely to get a variety of different answers, ranging from “Great!” and “Getting better every day!” all the way to “Remind me. What’s social intelligence?” If you’re on the latter end of that spectrum and still feel uncertain about how Read More…
Mathematical models will never be able to predict the ups and downs of the economy, the winner of the NCAA March Madness tournament or the weather with absolute certainty. But, as Nate Silver proved last November, combining big data insights with modern day statistical analysis can now lead to rather stunning –and enormously valuable –insights. Read More…
James Bond certainly knows the value of a multi-purpose wristwatch. Over the years, he has escaped countless life-threatening predicaments thanks to watches that doubled as communication devices, laser beam cutters, homing beacons, etc. Will consumers be able to count on Apple’s (rumored) iWatch for those same kinds of benefits? I’m being facetious, of course. No Read More…
The CMO Council made headlines a few months ago when it declared 2013 “The Year of the Marketer.” Now, after attending the Teradata Marketing APEX Summit last week, I’d like to add my own twist to that declaration. After all, as I see it, there’s an important distinction to be made. To me, the year Read More…
When I delivered my keynote at our 2013 Marketing APEX Summit this week, I didn’t mince words. There’s no reason to. Marketers need to fully recognize that big data is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the vast resource of exponential data offers infinite value. But on the other, far too many businesses are Read More…
Jay Coleman of the University of North Florida, Mike DuMond of Charles River Associates and Allen Lynch of Mercer University developed a formula to predict which Division I men’s basketball teams will qualify for “March Madness,” the NCAA tournament that has evolved into a springtime tradition –or is it obsession? –for sports fans around the Read More…
Some think Grumpy Cat was the star of SXSW this year. But, I disagree. As I see it, something considerably more optimistic –and considerably less feline –stole the show in Austin. That something was: Big data. Nate Silver used his SXSW keynote to kick-off the conversation by highlighting both the possibilities and the challenges intrinsic Read More…
Have you heard the wake-up calls? They’re getting louder, more frequent and decidedly more difficult to ignore. As recent high-profile security breaches at The New York Times, Facebook, Apple and even Microsoft showed, no business is immune to cyber attack –and the impacts can be devastating. Last year, a study determined the organizational cost of a data Read More…
The landscape for competitive manufacturing is in the midst of a massive power shift. New research from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s (DTTL) Global Manufacturing Industry group and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness found that over the next five years, 20th-century manufacturing stalwarts like the United States, Germany and Japan will face significant competitive challenges from Read More…
Most businesses now recognize the challenges –and the opportunities –presented by big data, and many are getting their arms around how to capture big data streams. Some have even begun to centralize systems to create a more holistic view of digital information. Unfortunately, though, few have been able to leverage all this data into true Read More…