{"id":781,"date":"2014-10-14T08:53:27","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T12:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/?p=781"},"modified":"2016-09-29T14:32:13","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:32:13","slug":"moving-beyond-the-big-data-hype-by-embedding-data-driven-insights-in-everyday-customer-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/business-intelligence\/moving-beyond-the-big-data-hype-by-embedding-data-driven-insights-in-everyday-customer-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Beyond the Big Data Hype by Embedding Data Driven Insights in Everyday Customer Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Moving<\/a>Today we have an insightful\u00a0piece of contributed content on the hot topic of Big Data from\u00a0Allen Bonde, VP of product marketing & innovation at reporting and embedded analytics leader Actuate (www.actuate.com).\u00a0<\/em><\/em>Allen Bonde<\/em>\u00a0says <\/em>the real Big Data revolution will only happen if we stop the tech chatter \u2013 and start building useful applications<\/em><\/p>\n

Along with civilian moon flights and the Paleo Diet, is Big Data one of those ideas that seems destined for the hype cycle rather than reality?<\/p>\n

Like it or not, Big Data will remain an untapped resource for many of us until we actually start converting all the data we\u2019ve accumulated, at scale and from multiple sources, into simple \u2013 yet truly smart \u2013 data driven apps<\/em> that deliver value for specific tasks, and are embedded into the broader applications customers already use <\/em>for online banking, travel, shopping or even getting their news.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a Big Challenge. And until we figure it out, we won\u2019t begin to see the kind of compelling, data driven apps that analysts like IDC see as \u201cthe next big thing\u201d (https:\/\/www.idc.com\/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prSG24476813<\/a>).<\/p>\n

So, what are we missing? For starters, Big Data is still (mostly) about data scientists rather than data consumers. Second, today\u2019s app developers think \u201cmobile first\u201d and need super-efficient ways to access, manage, and deliver large scale data-driven apps that are highly visual, easy to learn, and fit the needs of today\u2019s smart, demanding consumers.<\/p>\n

+ Check Out a Free\u00a02015 Business Intelligence Tools Buyers Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Data driven is the new mantra<\/em><\/p>\n

So how do we transform Big Data into smaller, bite-sized, actionable insights and killer apps? Our best bet is to start by thinking \u201cSmall\u201d from the outset. More precisely, we need to create new information hubs for filtering multisource Big Data into much more usable \u201cSmall Data\u201d (https:\/\/www.smalldatagroup.com<\/a>) and highly actionable information that informs, connects and ultimately motivates the end user to buy the ticket, apply for the loan, or tell their friends how great their favorite brand is.<\/p>\n

Clearly, the challenge is to up our game when it comes to information design, using principles from the Small Data movement, as well as modern software practices like public APIs, rich visualization, and native Big Data support that makes it easy to \u201cwire up\u201d apps to access the latest sources when they come online. These new data driven apps will need to incorporate a mix of historical, real time and trend based data, real time, for targeting sales and services for consumers and industrial functions alike; to power competitive intelligence and online merchandizing apps, to name just a couple.<\/p>\n

A great example is the Kayak (https:\/\/www.kayak.com<\/a>) when-to-book tool. It takes literally billions of data points at the back end, including pricing and purchase trend information from hundreds of airlines, and transforms all that massive, Big Data into the Small Data that tells you and I whether to buy the airfare now, or wait for the fare to fall per the apps\u2019 predictions. And it\u2019s all delivered in a simple dashboard on your mobile device or desktop.<\/p>\n

Best practices and tools<\/em><\/p>\n

There are many compelling data driven apps we can envision by looking at ways to access all our Big Data and transform it into just the right Small Data, then serve it up as super useful, actionable visualizations and recommendations. But to get to the full potential of the data driven app experience, we\u2019re going to a need a mobile-first web tier that scales from simple embedded charts to rich analytical frameworks to help us in the collection and processing phase of all that data, as well packaging it for consumption and decision making.<\/p>\n

The good news is that a set of tools and best practices are emerging to help data driven app designers. Supporting these emerging principles will be better business analytics infrastructure with open APIs and an ability to support potentially any device or display requirements (even wearables!). At my company, Actuate, working with our 200+ large enterprise OEMs and millions of BIRT and BIRT iHub developers, we\u2019ve found some clear ways forward:<\/p>\n