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In many ways, big data is the future of business. The ability to sort, process and analyze the increasing amounts of information that companies now have at their disposal is an important asset. Really profiting from this opportunity, however, takes the right corporate environment. 

The whole company has to be on the same page. If management is unwilling to trust any information that doesn't confirm its "gut feeling", there is little value in compiling a database. Trusting in the collection process is a crucial part of using data well, and an unwilling executive could undermine the the entire process. Before a business agrees that it will adhere to Big Data principles, it has to make sure there is a wholesale commitment to it. 

Another important takeaway from database management is "actionability." What do you want to do with the information you've gathered? Setting concrete goals before looking at the numbers can help guide the discussion and suggest practical solutions. 

Say, for example, you're managing a clothing retailer, and you use FileMaker to determine that your most heavily trafficked hours are between 9 a.m. and noon. Are you able to devote the extra personnel and marketing hours to taking advantage of these findings? If not, the value of this knowledge is sharply curtailed. But if you are adaptable, you could reorganize your sales goals to take advantage of the increased traffic and add extra salespeople to increase conversions. 

If you're a company looking to make big profits with big data, it might take more than just talented FileMaker developers: a cultural change might be needed.

While it may be lost in the hoopla that is big data, there is one very important element to the strategy that cannot be ignored: big data is going to change the way you do business. 

What do we mean by this? On the surface, it probably sounds like we're overstating the obvious. Of course big data is going to change the way business is done. It's going to allow decision makers to view and analyze information that was previously unavailable, providing companies with the ability to do things never thought possible. But there's far more to it than that. In short, big data is going to change everything about standard business operations.

That's the sentiment of a recent Forbes article titled "Why Big Data Matters." The article talks about the Bayesian inference, the act of making educated guesses and updating them after collecting new data that theoretically enhances the accuracy of these guesses. This was popular during World War II as it allowed soldiers to project the location of German subs, but it never caught on in the business world because there was simply not enough information for it to be practical. 

Instead, businesses mostly adopted the approach created by Ronald Fisher, which involves controlling every aspect of the prediction process. Essentially, it's a less effective method, but it was the best individuals could do with the limited information they have. However, given the growth of data volumes, that is changing dramatically. Because users have access to so much information, they can now trust that new data will consistently flow into their systems, allowing them to constantly update their projections. 

Greg Satell, the article's author, explained this in further detail.

"What you really need to know about big data is this:  [big data] represents a fundamental shift in how we do things," he wrote. "In effect, big data opens the door to a Bayesian approach to strategy where we no longer try to be 'right' based on controlled research and small samples, but rather become less wrong over time as real world information floods in."

The big data revolution is underway, but the only way your company can take advantage of it is if you have the right tools. A custom database software system made by FileMaker developers will allow you to embrace big data and change the way you do business for the better. 

No company wants to be behind the times or its competition when it comes to the latest technology. If other businesses hop on the bandwagon of innovative tools that customers flock to, those organizations are going to progress at a different rate than companies that sit back and wait. However, with so many "must have" devices and services hitting the market, which ones should business owners invest in?

A recent article from ZDNet attempted to answer this by looking at the top 2014 enterprise IT trends. While certain items, like the cloud and smart machines dominate the list, also near the top is software solutions. Whether it is mobile applications or HTML5, this is an area that cannot be ignored.

"Software defined everything," the article reads. "You've heard of software defined networking. And software defined data centers. Now get ready for software-defined everything. Vendors will beat this term to death because they are all trying to defend their turf while growing via adjacent markets. Here's the catch: Vendors aren't likely to support standards that in practice will take their core businesses away."

With more physical IT hardware options like servers going virtual, software appears to be on the verge of taking over. However, it is a system that can be complicated, especially for businesses that lack strong internal tech knowledge. By partnering with a software development firm, organizations receive a hand with custom application creation and ensure they have a solid foot in the future of business operations.

The concept of big data has been around for a number of years, and most organizations have learned how to leverage information into smart, profitable business decisions, but plenty of companies still struggle with the execution of information management strategies.

To maximize the impact of their information and to truly be successful as a business, organizations have to learn what roadblocks stand in the way between them and an effective big data strategy. An article in the online publication Health Data Management offers three possibilities: a failure to understand the right data management technologies, budgetary constraints and a lack of understanding of the breadth of big data possibilities.

While this article is focused on health care data, its principles can be applied in virtually every industry.

“Big data technologies offer a different model for managing, maintaining and mobilizing data,” the article says. “Implementing them provides an opportunity to look at the workload currently managed by those traditional – and possibly crumbling – environments in order to find ways to reach better outcomes more quickly and cost-effectively.”

So how do businesses clear these  hurdles? Finding the right technology is the most important component of a big data strategy, as it can help solve all three.

Consider FileMaker development. Using this platform to build data management tools can give you the functionality you need to properly monitor and process your seemingly endless volumes of information. A custom database software system is designed specifically for your operations, meaning it is the best solution for your needs.

FileMaker development can also help you get around budgetary concerns. While money is always a factor in any business decision, many FileMaker projects, particularly if you work with the right development firm, can be completed with less money and in a shorter amount of time than you might expect. FileMaker is a cost-effective platform designed to produce positive results and start delivering a return on investment right away.

Finally, the functionality of a FileMaker-based system will not only help you with your data management initiatives, it will allow you to do things with your information you may have never thought possible. A fully functional solution will let you collect, process and store information in a way that promotes efficiency and increases business productivity.

This blog has recently spent a considerable amount of time covering data governance, its relationship with big data and its impact on information quality. And while we are learning more about it all the time, we are still working to establish a true definition and the official role of those tasked with data governance. 

An article in the online publication Information Management attempts this by declaring data governance as the act of serving and protecting the organization. This makes sense to some extent. Data governance helps identify risk that can have severe consequences for the company and it also processes information in a way that best serves the business. For example, data governance can identify quality metrics to help with the sales and marketing teams.

This sounds simple, but as Michele Goetz, the article's author, points out, there's a bit more to it than that. For instance, one policy doesn't fit all when it comes to managing information. And, in many cases, data governance may only really mean to protect, because service is actually redundant.

Essentially, if there's a data governance plan in place that corrects mistakes and weeds out inappropriate information, there shouldn't be a need to spoon-feed certain individuals or departments with the information they need. Instead, a well orchestrated data governance plan will create an environment where users can extract information as needed. They will be trusted to use appropriate data because it is organized due to governance. 

"In the grand scheme of things for the enterprise, especially as a chief data officer, the responsibility is to executives," Goetz writes. "They need to trust the data. The controls and processes at an enterprise level are tailored to their needs and expectations of information. Yet, in the world of big data, empowerment of the business to outsource IT, the number of increasingly tech savvy business people, and the ability to serve creates a more faceted data strategy — in turn a multi-faceted need for data governance."

This actually puts a heavier burden of responsibility on data governance. Giving users the flexibility to extract information for individual needs can add new layers of operational efficiency, but any issues pertaining to poorly governed data could result in major consequences. Creating a custom database software system to manage information can help companies govern their data and improve the overall quality of decision making.

Data and risk management go hand-in-hand. The ability to process information and identify key components that could potentially lead to future problems for the organization is of the utmost importance.

There will always be an element of uncertainty in business decision making. This is typically related to company financials, but that’s not always the case. While it’s impossible to completely mitigate the risks associated with the unknown, companies can do themselves a big favor by collecting proper information and using it to identify whether it is a risk or not and handling it accordingly.

The question is, how do companies identify risks hidden within their information? There are a few schools of thought regarding this.

The online publication Waters Technology addresses two of them. One is data quality. Having the best, most up-to-date and accurate information will provide major assistance to an organization’s risk management efforts. This can become more challenging as information volumes rise, but having a higher quantity of data can actually give businesses more resources and a greater chance to identify and manage risk.

Data governance also plays a big role in risk management, even if two processes are independent of one another. The reason for this is that data governance impacts a number of departments within the organization and has far more uses than simply helping identify risk. Essentially, ensuring the accuracy of information will certainly help companies trying to identify risk, but it can provide a number of other advantages as well.

As this blog has discussed in the past, data governance and data quality are directly related. According to Fidelity ActionsXchange’s Deborah Culhane, who spoke with the news source, “data quality is being improved by more mature data governance processes.”

Ultimately, building a custom database software system will allow you to concentrate your efforts on data governance and improving quality, which will pay dividends in your risk management initiatives. FileMaker development can play a sizeable role by providing you with the resources you need to discover any potential risks. This system can scale and adjust to the volume of your information, which will allow you to maintain an effective risk management process, regardless of any changes that occur to your data.

The importance of proper data management is not exclusive to for-profit companies. In fact, non-profit organizations may have a greater need for data management, considering that many have a responsibility to provide assistance with social issues. Improper data management in the non-profit sector can have consequences that extend far beyond the organization.

However, many non-profits are struggling with handling their information. According to a study conducted by the Washington-based CPA and consulting firm Tate & Tryon, the main obstacle these organizations are facing is missing and inaccurate data. Perhaps most disconcerting is the fact that while the majority of organizations know what their problem is, they don't necessarily understand what's causing that problem. "Without understanding what is truly preventing your organization from fully leveraging your data, you may end up wasting time and money – such as buying new database software – fixing something that wasn't broken," the report says.

While that assertion makes sense in theory, companies shouldn't simply negate the importance of database software. The purpose of the statement is to implore users not to invest anything they don't need, but know that they will still need some way to monitor and track information. Buying a solution for the sake of having one might not be the answer, but if you are able to build a custom database software system that fits your information management needs, you can identify data issues and solve them without having to take any unnecessary action.

FileMaker development is an ideal solution because it allows you to create a system that fits specifically with your organization. You can maximize your data management efforts and alleviate any issues such as lost or inaccurate information.

Given the abundance of new technologies that have proliferated corporate environments in recent years, one would think we have reached  the peak of IT innovation. Think again.

While advancements have been made in cloud computing, mobility, data management and many other key areas of business in the last five years or so, we have not reached the end of technological evolution. In fact, we could just be getting started.

An article in the Harvard Business Review suggests we have just hit the beginning of the next digital wave, meaning new innovative technologies are right around the corner and more areas of our life will be digitized. This makes sense when you consider arguably the biggest change in technology coming down the pipeline: the internet of things.

This essentially suggests everything we use in our daily lives will be connected to an online network. We’ll be able to use our coffee makers to share with Facebook every time we make a fresh pot and our vacuum cleaners will tell us the last time we used them, giving us an idea of when we should vacuum again. These examples are obviously somewhat extreme and will be used in the home, but the concept is very real and will have a major impact on businesses and the data they process.

Intel CIO Kim Stevenson spoke with the news source about the overall trend of new technologies. She indicated that recent innovations have really only laid the groundwork for this tsunami of digital devices, and warned businesses to prepare for the onslaught.

“[IT functions have] gone through ERP, they’ve gone through BYOD and they’ve gone through cloud, and they think they’ve done it all,” Stevenson said. “But the reality is, we’re only at the very, very beginning of this next generation of computing, and I think that…industry leaders will be the ones that transform first. I don’t care what industry you’re talking about.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge companies will face due to digital innovation is a major spike in data. Not only will information be more prevalent, companies will have to be more efficient when managing it if they want to maintain long-term viability in their industry. Capitalizing on innovation is what will allow businesses to succeed during this time. Building a custom database software system can provide organizations with the resources they need to effectively manage their information.

If there's one things banks have going for them, their access to information is unparalleled. Financial organizations process an almost infinite amount of data on a daily basis, which provides them with useful insights that they can later use to improve customer service, boost operational efficiency and identify risk, among many other applications. The problem is many banks are struggling to actually use their information correctly.

Lawrence Buettner of Wausau Financial Systems wrote a recent article for Bank Tech detailing his travels around the country. He visited a number of banks and other financial companies to talk about innovation and other tech-related topics with some of the nation's most prominent financial professionals. Typically, these conversations turned to data. More accurately, they spoke of their respective bank's mismanagement of its own information.

"We lost a major house account that was with the bank for decades because we could not meet their data needs to better manage their receivables," one banker told Buettner.

While this is clearly an unfortunate scenario, the worst part is that it's entirely avoidable. By implementing the right solutions, banks—or any company for that matter—can harness the power of their information and get the most out of it. Data should help an organization grow, not prevent it from succeeding.

Building a custom database software system will allow companies to effectively collect, process and monitor their information. Companies like banks that handle an enormous volume of data will be able to scale their systems and eliminate the risk of mismanaging their information.

Succeeding in a competitive market isn’t easy, particularly for small startups that have to go against larger and more established organizations. However, that didn’t stop Golden Road Brewing. The Los Angeles-based craft brewery has thrived because of its custom database software system.

Co-founder Meg Gill spoke with Inc. Magazine about her vision, her challenges and what helped her succeed in a tough industry. While hard work and resolve played a substantial role in her success, it was her understanding of how to manage information that really fueled her ability to compete in her market. She soon realized that data could improve virtually every aspect of her business, including the freshness of her beer, something she explained was crucial to her company.

“You can’t get to volume, and then to profitability, without fresh beer,” she said. “That’s something we live by. Even though our first year was incredibly successful, we learned that without comprehensive tracking and reporting systems for distribution and retail, we couldn’t control whether our beer was fresh.”

An article featured in Forbes picked up Gill’s story and suggested many small organizations don’t understand the power of quality data, which is why success in this space is never easy.

“Small and medium businesses (SMBs) face many challenges when it comes to basic infrastructure. Many times, spreadsheets are the only answer for running the business (inventory management, production schedules or sales process). As a result, manual reports proliferate and they are tough to manage and consolidate,” the article said.

Understanding the importance of not only digital information, but the ability to process it efficiently will go a long way toward helping any small company compete in its industry, regardless of what it is. Gill figured out early on that her database system, which she manages in the cloud, will help ensure the freshness of her beer, which keeps her product at the level of quality it needs to help her business grow. If her information was inaccurate and the freshness of her beer was compromised, it could have damaged her entire operation.

FileMaker development can allow companies to build a system that tracks data that’s important to them and store it in a similar cloud environment. This will allow businesses to grow as their solution scales up with their success.