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Just because the term is called "Big Data" does not mean that it is relegated to only large companies and organizations. With more information becoming available online and accessible from different computer systems, businesses can fine-tune their marketing approach or even improve inner office operations.

Steve King, a partner at Emergent Research, spoke with Forbes on how Big Data is influencing the business world.

"The growth of the internet, wireless networks, smartphones, social media, sensors and other digital technology is fueling a big data revolution," he said. "Big data was the exclusive domain of statisticians and large corporations but not anymore."

King added that small businesses can also benefit from Big Data. For example, when a company is able to bring sales and staffing data together it can help the organization achieve more cost-effective processes. Scheduling and tracking supplies can be streamlined and a business could cut costs.

Additionally, digital marketing can help companies find the best ways to reach current and potential customers. For example, a study by Catalina found that 53 percent of a brand's sales volume comes from outside its demographic target. The report looked at 10 different types of brands that tried to cater most ads to women ages 25 to 54.    

Specifically, when it came to mayonnaise and frozen dinners, 60 percent of those sales came from customers outside the demographic target.

With custom database software, businesses of all sizes can take advantage of the Big Data trend. Taking in large amounts of information doesn't have to be overwhelming, and can in fact, help companies find more efficient ways to reach out to customers and improve daily operations.

Custom database software is becoming more prevalent in the business world across numerous industries. As companies further integrate themselves into the digital age, it is more necessary to have a strong solution to help them sift through large amounts of information.

This blog previously discussed how books can be affected by the influx of Big Data, with libraries needing an organized way to filter through the information that must be managed. However, e-readers could also soon play a part in this trend.

According to the company website, Authorgraph is a service designed to enable authors and readers to connect through digital books. Authors can personally autograph material that is on Kindle and EPUB books. Originally called Kindlegraph, the business is an ideal option for readers to still get an autographed book, even if not in the same location as their favorite author.

"The company is starting to mine into its big data and is able to tap into popular trends of hot genres, authors, and a myriad of other factors," explained a Good e-Reader article.

Currently, over 7,000 authors are part of the digital community, and sign many books each day.

Authorgraph CEO Evan Jacobs told the news source that when it comes to requests for a particular author or genre, many customer trends seem to be seasonal, but some book categories being more popular than others are more difficult to predict. 

For example, May saw Travel increase by 83 percent but Religion and Spirituality decreased by 57 percent.

Within the next month, Authorgraph hopes to create a predictive analysis of emerging authors and the genres that are on the rise. Not only can this be beneficial in offering customers what they want, it can also help hopeful authors find a genre that will be profitable.

As technology continues to evolve at a break-neck pace, businesses must remain current to ensure that they can advertise to their customers. Recent research shows though, that old ad campaign approaches will no longer have the same effect, and companies need to fine-tune their marketing to reach as many consumers as possible.

"Standard ad messaging and conventional creative executions and placement are rapidly becoming outmoded," Jeffrey Rayport, managing partner of the digital strategy firm MarketspaceNext, wrote in a Harvard Business Review contribution piece. "To win consumers' attention and trust, marketers must think less about what advertising says to its targets and more about what it does for them."

Rayport added that strong ad campaigns need more than just a beginning, middle and end. The offerings that are promoted must be able to have a rewarding presence in consumers' lives.

Furthermore, a survey conducted for BtoB (Business to Business) Magazine by Oracle's Eloqua division found that new marketing skill sets must include a knowledge of marketing technology — including customer relationship management systems — and analytics, among others.

Marketers must find the right balance between creativity and being technologically savvy. Understanding systems and data analysis is becoming more important, according to a Tennessean article that discussed the Eloqua study.

This is where a custom database software system can be highly beneficial. Companies that want to reach a wider consumer base, and ensure that they are being properly advertised to, will likely need to sift through a large amount of information.

Tools like FileMaker development can assist businesses in developing software programs that can handle a large amount of data and keep it organized. Then, ad campaigns can be designed to cater to whatever type of customer a company needs to reach out to.

Apple's iPhone is certainly one of the most popular mobile devices in the world, but is the company doing everything it can to promote it?

In the age of big data, businesses have a wealth of information at their disposal that they can use to enhance their marketing strategies by narrowing their approach toward a specific target market. Apple has been able to successfully market its products to legions of loyal customers, but in the post-Steve Jobs era, it may be time for Apple to adjust its approach.

An article in Fast Company recently pointed to Apple's less-than-desirable earnings numbers and indicated that the latest iPhone didn't sell as well as it should have. The piece suggested that the company may need to incorporate modern tactics, particularly by implementing the use of big data.

Dan Neely, the author of the article, indicated that solely relying on the word of Steve Jobs may not be best practice in today's era of Apple.

"There was the Steve Jobs model, where a highly influential leader imposed his taste on the public at large," Neely wrote. "These kinds of organizations are rarely successful and sustainable even less frequently. The ongoing criticisms of Tim Cook's leadership make this clear."

Apple can use its own solutions to enhance its efforts. Building a custom database software system in FileMaker can give Apple the resource it needs to effectively monitor customer data and adjust its marketing practices accordingly. 

This is a model other businesses should strive to emulate. With FileMaker development, all businesses can improve the way they collect information and utilize it to improve their marketing initiatives.

The Chief Information Officer's role is changing in the era of big data. While these executives will still be relied upon to manage business technology and information systems, the way businesses as a whole are using their information is shifting, which means the CIO has to adjust his or her own responsibilities accordingly.

This has become an even bigger issue recently as technology has evolved to a point where many systems don't necessarily require management from an executive. Cloud computing, for example, is typically managed by a third party provider and many other solutions are self sufficient and streamlined, which has led some analysts to question exactly what the CIO does now. 

An article in the online publication Smart Data Collective suggests the CIO has an opportunity now to adjust his or her title as he or she become less about managing systems and more about evaluating the data collected in these systems.

"The best way Chief Information Officers (or CIOs) can regain past glory of their role is to adopt and grow with changing technology and evolve to become Chief Insights Officers," the article says.

But making these key insights to benefit the organization requires help. If the CIO is to be relied on to evaluate company data and make smart decisions based on its contents, there must be a system in place to cater to this need. FileMaker development can help build custom database software systems that give users easy access to information. The CIO will be able to use this information to better his or her own responsibilities.

The volume of information collected in the big data era is growing at an extraordinary pace, but that's not the only way the technology is evolving. 

The future of big data is brighter than ever before, as companies are discovering new ways to collect and utilize their information to benefit their business. Because there's a greater amount of data flowing in and out of organizational systems, the speed in which it's processed must also be increased. 

An article in the online publication InTech examines the big data trends businesses should look out for in the near future. In addition to higher volumes and a greater variety of information, data velocity is also a major factor organizations will have to be cognizant of in order to maximize the value of their strategies. 

"As embedded sensors in all sorts of equipment become ubiquitous, and the cost of mobile connectivity continues to drop, we can expect the speed at which data is collected to go up exponentially," writes Sanat Joshi, the article's author. "For example, imagine every car sold by a car company sending frequent updates about the health of various sub-systems in the car, and millions of cars on the road continuously sending in updates, or an oil-drilling platform receiving continuous streams of data from the well, or the click-stream data for users of an application like Facebook."

As companies receive information in a fast and furious manner, they must be prepared to manage it. Developing a custom database software solution may be the only way businesses can guarantee their ability to keep up. 

FileMaker development is an ideal way to create this system, because it allows users to build a scalable solution that can keep up with any new big data trends as they come about.

Recent events in Oklahoma have once again shown the resolve of individuals in the face of a crisis. We are a strong species and when disaster strikes, whether it’s in Oklahoma, Boston, New York or anywhere else in the U.S. or even the world, we come together to find solutions and strategize recovery efforts. Today, much of this initiative is being aided by the use of technology, particularly big data management systems.

A recent Forbes article examined the power big data can have in assisting with humanitarian efforts. Organizations leading the way are able to obtain valuable information, perhaps from a tweet of an eye-witness, and report on it in a way that can map out successful recovery plans.

“Crisis-mapping technology has emerged in the past five years as a tool to help humanitarian organizations deliver assistance to victims of civil conflicts and natural disasters,” the article said. “Crisis-mapping platforms display eyewitness reports submitted via e-mail, text message and social media. The reports are then plotted on interactive maps, creating a geospatial record of events in real time.”

Recovery efforts can not afford to suffer any kind of delay. Organizations must be able to extract pertinent information quickly because time is always of the essence in these types of scenarios. Building a custom database software system can allow users to view the information they need and make proper decisions based on its value. This will expedite a number of processes and allow those assisting with crisis management to get to work right away.

FileMaker is an ideal platform to build this solution on as it allows for developers to create the functions needed to assist with data management of this magnitude.

RadioShack is in the midst of a rebranding strategy that it hopes will erase the stigma of the company being out of touch with today's consumers. 

For years, the electronics retailer has suffered from a poor reputation, which ultimately allowed it to be passed by companies like Best Buy or Apple's retail division. But Jennifer Warren, RadioShack's chief marketing officer, hopes that giving the store a facelift will yeild strong results. Warren spoke with the Dallas Business Journal about her company's strategy and suggested that changing the company's customer experience initiative will allow RadioShack to compete with the leaders in consumer electronics retail.

"Right now we're the stop for people to get products so they can go play in life. But with the redesign, in addition to being on the way to play, we'll be a destination for play," she said. "We're going to look to strike the balance between making sure we stay relevant to our current customer base and broadening and becoming relevant to a younger base as well."

A rebranding strategy cannot happen on a whim. It requires a tremendous amount of planning and data analysis. RadioShack executives likely had to examine the behavior of its current customers and compare it with that of those who shop at its competitors. Compiling this information and managing it requires a system that can allow users to properly analyze data. If RadioShack didn't use the right solution, it wouldn't be able to extract the most value from its data, and its rebranding strategy would not live up to its potential.

Implementing a custom database software system can help organizations in a similar area compile data and use it to their advantage, which will help users make smart decisions throughout the rebranding process.

The era of big data, instant information and communication has changed the way brands interact with consumers, but it has also changed the way individuals interact with businesses.

Gone are the days when consumers had limited resources to assist with their shopping efforts. Shoppers who would simply travel to a store and make choices primarily based on the consumer goods they could see and touch can now go online and access a bevy of data to supplement their decision making. Online reviews, product descriptions and price comparisons can help shoppers determine where and how to buy the products they are looking for.

With the recent advancement of mobile technology, this process is even easier for customers. A shopper can now view a product, pull out his or her mobile device and look that item up to find out how to best obtain that particular item. They can use location services to find the best place to drive in order to purchase it or they can order it online through their phone or tablet’s browser, if that’s the best possible option. Moreover, if the reviews of that particular item are not favorable, consumers can quickly search for competitive product.

Companies can no longer assume shoppers will buy what they need as soon as they find it in a store. They have to understand the way consumers behave and counter with their own big data strategies. Businesses that are cognizant of the options consumers have must collect data pertaining to this fact and use it to their advantage.

Custom application development will likely be necessary. Because businesses cannot afford to fall behind consumer trends, investing in solutions to monitor them is vital. To maintain economic viability, brands and retailers have to be in control of the shopping experience, rather than vice versa. Once customers take the lead in the data game, businesses will be at a significant disadvantage.

Big data changing the face of emerging market retail

On Monday, an article in the South China Morning Post examined the impact information is having on the way both consumers and businesses interact with one another. In emerging Asian markets, where more users are obtaining an internet connection each day and smartphone adoption is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, companies are working to keep up with this rapidly growing trend.

Li Hong, the author of the article, explained that businesses are taking advantage of every opportunity presented by increased smartphone functionality.

“Data analysis isn’t only about marketing,” Hong wrote. “Geographical data can tell us much about people’s consumption habits. In China, digital and big data can provide a window for brands into third- and fourth-tier cities which were previously out of reach to retailers due to high distribution costs. With the rise in mobile and internet use, e-commerce will add to this new outreach.”

Here in the United States, having the right solutions in place to control pertinent consumer data is crucial. Using FileMaker to develop a custom database software system is an ideal solution because of the strong capabilities of the platform. Businesses that develop these software programs can keep a keen eye on all important pieces information and use it to improve their own efforts.

The ability for companies to communicate with customers is crucial, and requires a software system sophisticated enough to manner in which businesses reach their intended target. Organizations use customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to assist with the process, but in the age of big data, new needs are reshaping the basic functionality of these systems.

Custom application development is a high priority for many organizations when it comes to finding solutions to help engage customers. These individuals dictate the success of the business, so it’s crucial to ensure that no shortcomings are experienced throughout the company’s relationship with them. Thankfully, with the help of complex big data strategies, businesses can strategically build systems designed to cater to customers in a way that ensures positive results.

This trend is catching on, according to a report from Gartner. The research firm projects that big data is going to revolutionize the CRM system. In an interview with Computer Weekly, Gartner Research vice president Kimberly Collins said that while data will certainly reshape the way we work with customers, benefits will only be experienced if information is managed properly.

“In many ways there is a huge opportunity,” Collins said. “But if CIOs and business leaders don’t work together and put their arms around it, they will see a lot of renegade, tactical efforts in their organization.”

FileMaker development can help companies obtain the right solutions to manage the data pertaining to their customer interactions. Building a custom database management system will help companies ensure they are using their information to the best of their ability in order to maintain steady relationships with all their customers.