With
all the hubbub about Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT), the
value of Small Data has been pushed to the wayside. Big Data analytics
teaches us about trends and hidden patterns, but Small Data pulls out
the specifics of the current state of business. According to Whatis.com,
“Small data is data in a volume and format that makes it accessible,
informative and actionable. Small data typically provides information
that answers a specific question or addresses a specific problem.
Examples of small data include baseball scores, inventory reports,
driving records, sales data, biometric measurements, search histories,
weather forecasts and usage alerts.”
Why is this short-term thinking helpful?
According to a recent article in Forbes magazine, “Small Data can
trigger events based on what is happening now. Those events can be
merged with behavioral or trending information derived from machine
learning algorithms run against Big Data datasets.”
Small Data underlines what’s going on in the moment, so you can apply
actionable strategies to everyday tasks. And, just like anything else
in life, accomplishing smaller tasks feels less daunting than a huge
mass of data you have to digest all at once. To be clear, Big Data IS
valuable—it’s excellent for understanding hidden patterns in customer
behavior, recognizing patterns and predicting changes in the long-term.
However, the use cases for Small Data should not be overlooked. Here are
a few reasons why:
1. There’s no wait time on Small Data.
To reap the benefits of Big Data, you must aggregate the content over
time and then analyze how all the pieces fit together. (You also have to
decipher what the heck all that data means.) With small data, there’s
no wait time. Small Data is generated every second of every day, from
social media posts to Google searches and check-ins. The stats and
trends are created in real-time, so you can continually tweak your
strategies to meet the shifting patterns.
2. Small Data creates a more comprehensive CRM database.
CRM solutions are evolving to be social-centric. Small Data is generated
through actions on those social channels. So, if you combine the
elements of social data with Web analytics, transactional histories,
competitor trends, etc., it fills in the gaps of your customer profiles.
With an arsenal of information at your fingertips, you can make better
marketing decisions and craft meaningful, personal interactions that
speak to what your customers care about in the here-and-now.
3. Small Data is less expensive and easier to come by.
Companies need to pull from a lot of data reserves for Big Data
analytics, and oftentimes it requires a monetary investment. Big Data
uses high volumes of Terabytes, Petabytes, Exabytes, and Zettabytes —
which need expansive server space. Data mining applications and advanced
analytics machines add to those costs as well. Small Data, on the other
hand, doesn’t need massive amounts of server space or fancy
applications. Much of the necessary information can be extracted from
the systems most companies already have in place, like CRM’s and ERP’s.
That makes Small Data a lot easier to come by and a lot cheaper to
utilize.
Big Data and Small Data are both applicable to your business, just in
different ways. Big Data is your long-term, big picture, and Small Data
is your short-term, current trend. Find a balance between the two and
you’ll be on the right path to building a healthy, successful business
model.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekavis/2015/02/25/forget-big-data-small-d...
https://datafloq.com/read/small-data-vs-big-data-back-to-the-basic/706
http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Web-Exclusives/Viewpoints/5-Ways-...