Today, Big Data applications are radically transforming the ways in which small and medium enterprises are competing with each other. Because of their impact, it has become essential for companies to know the right ways of implementing Big Data tools and analytics –and from the very beginning too. These Big Data best practices are indispensible in enhancing the ongoing efforts of SMEs and help them move ahead with their smaller margin of error and budgets alike. Here’s a checklist that needs ample consideration before SMEs (like yours) push in the required investments for maximizing business value.

1. Have the Latest Big Data Tools in Place

Big Data tools and analytics are good fun to work with and offer valuable insights. But then, lack of latest tools and techniques for analysis can lead to complete wastage of time and resources. With the intent of providing the right answers for practical and real-world business issues, updated cloud-based solutions, machine learning techniques, and Big Data analytics for gaining business insights, these much-required tools are available at affordable prices. Because of their support and with the right infrastructural capabilities in place, small-sized companies are now exploring huge datasets for big-time success.



2. Easy Accessibility is a Must too

In order to get optimum value from your Big Data insights, ensure that they are easily accessible to all employees. Whether it is about HR teams keeping close track of absenteeism, or marketing teams utilizing data for assessing client demands, Big Data impacts all aspects of your business, and therefore, should be understood by all.

3. Where’s the Big Data Road Map?



Once objectives are set and all experimentations are over, you have a complete understanding of all that needs to be accomplished by your business. This is the right time for you to establish a Big Data road map. Instead of one that may go astray while meeting all project demands (of miscellaneous projects) simultaneously, the chalked road map should meet some fundamental requirements. An appropriate Big Data sketch best begins with foundational services that kick start your company’s operations. Then, it should encompass existing data services, achievable and reasonable benchmarks, and so forth. What’s more? It’s not at all important to plan ten years in advance and get bogged down during execution times. A two-or-three year road map that includes all technical and business goals is good enough.



4. Keep Testing all Big Data Assumptions

You know that unstructured data and new data sources may be used for making lucrative assumptions for the future. But, without proper testing systems in place, they may misfire badly. So, instead of anticipating beyond the levels of repair, you should be capable of determining the best actions that need to be initiated in real time. Despite having all the right metadata definitions and big data practices (read controls) in place, you need to test them regularly. For instance, if you have been getting hard to believe results recently, its time you evaluated all outcomes immediately. In other words, never assume that your data is always reliable and correct!

5. Ask for Big Data Expert Advice



The many opportunities and challenges of Big Data are better understood through discussions with experts. Whether it is for identifying SME projects that prove to be practical and promising, or knowing the issues that advanced Big Data applications and analytics can solve; those with more knowledge in the field go a long way in helping your cause.

6. Real Time Analysis of Big Data

Successful small and medium businesses are looking towards descriptive reports, data dashboards, and pre-defined systems for analyzing their incoming data, and in real time too. These tools are helping them produce the right predictions that may be put into action at the right time. Yes, it’s time to go for real time Big Data Analytics—you won’t be disappointed.

7. Visualization of Better Business Insights

The big idea behind using Big Data analytics is for accessing better, new business insights that may be transformed into valuable decision strategies for improving customer impact. You need to invest in visual tools for crafting decision trees or segmenting customer populations by using smart mixes of data-driven insights and policies. To lift business performance and benefit from data-centric experimentation, the right balance of human expertise with Big Data techniques is a must too.

This checklist of Big Data best practices requires little investments in specialized skills or large-scale, expensive infrastructure. The availability of effective cloud services is now allowing SMEs to handle all underlying Big Data systems and services securely. These services are chargeable only when put to use. Overall, the idea is to refrain from reinventing the wheel and leveraging the many advantages of Big Data’s momentum—right away!

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