This blog has recently discussed the story of how President Barack Obama was able to use big data as a way to gain an advantage over his presidential campaign opponent, Mitt Romney. But, now that the election is over, the question has come up from campaign organizers and IT security workers: what is going to happen with all that information?
Throughout the last campaign, the president created a trove of contact information and voter profiles, which he used to increase awareness and draw support. Now this valuable knowledge is just sitting in servers and databases, collecting digital dust.
According to the Wall Street Journal, one proposed solution is for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to takeover the database and use it to help aid future party candidates. But many are skeptical that a massive set of data built around Obama will be of much use to a candidate that would be completely different. In addition, the DNC may have some issues covering the costs that are associated with maintaining sets of data that are this large.
Another proposed idea has been to create an entirely new organization to house the data and even update it. This could come in handy with any future decisions regarding policy changes and legislature.
How to deal with data
Regardless of whether it's the organization supporting the President of the United States, or a small business looking to expand and practice better business techniques, dealing with data is a critical and tricky aspect to using it.
But, by consulting FileMaker developers, companies can create custom database software that allows them to constantly update the information they have, as well as house older data points in case they may be useful in the future. This technology is an excellent for office managers to look more closely at employee productivity and turnover rates, or for advertising companies to analyze campaign analytics.