7 Big Data Solutions for Small Businesses

Small businesses have evolved beyond mom-and-pop shops and have become an important part of the economy. Many of these small businesses are even using big data to help them scale and grow their companies, but what exactly are these big data solutions? And which are most beneficial to small businesses? Read on to learn about seven big data solutions that may be useful to your small business, as well as how they work, how much they cost, and how you can implement them successfully in your company.

What is Big Data Solution?

A big data solution refers to any process that collects, analyzes and makes use of large volumes of data. More specifically, big data solutions are typically used by businesses with a lot of traffic on their site or high-traffic mobile apps. With so much incoming information from customers and other sources, it can be difficult to organize all that information in a way that’s meaningful for business owners. For example, imagine running a clothing e-commerce store where thousands of people visit your website each day but don’t buy anything. It might be tempting to kick these individuals out because they aren’t paying money in exchange for your products—but is there something you could learn from them?

Choosing the Right Big Data Solution

There is a host of information and new analytics-based technologies to help small businesses improve and grow, but not all of them are right for every business. If you're considering adopting new technologies, ask yourself these questions to figure out which solution is best: Do I have data? Is my data valuable? Is my data valuable enough to justify spending money on it? What problem am I trying to solve with big data? How quickly do I need answers? What does my company look like from a technology standpoint? What is our capacity in terms of hiring personnel or managing our current staff or internal capabilities when it comes to handling big data management?

1. Big Data Solution: Use A Ready-Made Database

Before you can really utilize big data to its fullest potential, you’ll want to get your hands on a robust database system. Many organizations do not have much of a need for big data, and so they don’t necessarily use a specific database program. If you don’t already have one installed on your organization’s systems, it might be time to give some thought as to what will work best. Having an efficient way of storing and accessing all of your company data is a must, and databases are just that: efficient ways of storing large amounts of information.

2. Big Data Solution: Use Predictive Analytics To Identify Patterns

One of the biggest benefits of big data is how it enables businesses to make predictions and decisions. Whether you’re a startup looking to attract new customers or an established company attempting to keep up with changing technology, predictive analytics can help you spot patterns, trends and business opportunities more quickly than ever before. Paired with other big data solutions, like in-depth customer analysis, predictive analytics offers invaluable insights into your customers’ preferences and where they are most likely to buy from you.

3. Big Data Solution: Take Advantage Of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is another way that small businesses can use big data. Whether you’re outsourcing your company’s analytics to a third party or storing information in a cloud-based server, it all comes down to cost. When you outsource your analytics and storage to companies like Amazon Web Services, IBM or Google, you can pay as much or as little as you want based on how much of your data needs are being fulfilled by their service.

4. Big Data Solution: Implement An Artificial Intelligence Model

Artificial intelligence has been around since scientists began studying computer algorithms in 1950. However, AI wasn’t applied to business practices until much later. Today, AI can be used to streamline communications between a company and its customers or even further automate routine business processes. For example, an email marketing platform could use AI to automatically generate product recommendations based on what individual customers have purchased in the past. The possibilities are endless! While artificial intelligence is a newer concept that many small businesses aren’t familiar with yet, it’s quickly becoming an important part of companies all over -- including yours! To learn more about how you can use artificial intelligence in your company today and make things easier for yourself down the road, check out our sister site Digital Marketing ROI.

5. Big Data Solution: Embrace Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms

How do you ensure that your machine learning algorithms are intelligent enough to capture new patterns in big data? How do you make sure they are able to predict customer behavior accurately? Advanced machine learning algorithms like neuro-evolution and deep Q-learning algorithms can be used to help solve these problems. Neuro-evolution is a type of evolutionary computation where it mimics natural selection through genetic operations such as mutation, crossover, and recombination. Deep Q-networks help boost predictive power over shallow feedforward networks by connecting layers of nonlinear nodes (neurons) together. Deep neural networks help computers develop a better understanding of data by more efficiently analyzing huge amounts of information at once with fewer layers than standard neural networks.

6. Big Data Solution: Process And Analyze Unstructured Textual Documents

It's not just websites and social media platforms that we can analyze via big data. Think about all of those papers, documents, emails, and even handwritten notes that people share every day: we can make sense of them too. Sentiment analysis lets you understand how people feel about different things and makes it easy to figure out whether a company’s marketing is working or if there’s a topic your business should cover in more detail. It’s powerful stuff!

7. Big Data Solution: Invest In A Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Tool

Many times, businesses have major inefficiencies that can be solved by an RPA tool. These tools provide a way to automate repetitive tasks and can reduce costs, increase profits and improve employee satisfaction. In some cases, RPA tools are used to replace workers with software robots (hence robotic process automation), but most implementations of these tools save employees time and energy by freeing them from having to perform low-level tasks. An example of such a solution is Service Max from Salesforce: It combines several technologies including RPA (virtual agents) with predictive analytics to help service technicians better manage their schedule and achieve higher performance targets without spending hours on paperwork. The result? Less wasted time and greater efficiency among service technicians.