Big data for small business: Levelling the playing field

Guest blog by Dave King
Editor for Information Technology Advisor

The phenomenon that is “Big Data” is already having a huge impact on your organisation – only you might not have noticed it yet.

Big data is the accumulated data your organisation has collected and usually stored – structured and unstructured data such as text, sensor data, audio, video, click streams, log files, and more. Many companies are finding enormous value through analysing these various data sets against and with each other.

The evolution of the Internet and the influence of mobile devices, wireless networking, sensors, and social networks have changed operations and how businesses compete. But all these tech trends are bit players compared with Big Data.

While Big Data is the engine that’s driving companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, it’s relevant for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) too. Big Data has already had a significant impact …