There is a lot of discussion these days on the topic of Big Data. How the growth of data has reached exponential rates over the last few years. How this data needs to be stored. How to analyze this new abundance in data. What to analyze.

The simple fact is that Big Data is more than just large sets of data, it is a revolution in information that reaches and includes anyone with access to an internet connection. The information and capabilities of Big Data are available to all organizations small, medium, and large alike. The size of these data sets may differ from gigabytes to terabytes or even petabytes but the fact is, organizations with a presence online can all begin to access the potential of the Big Data revolution. From simply installing a free version of Google Analytics onto a website, paying as little as $2000 a year for Splunk, or accessing the data already collecting on a website’s structured database, the capabilities of collecting increasingly large amounts of data insights are a reality. The difficulty now lies in knowing what to look for and having the right people looking for it.

Deciding what kind of information will help drive your organization’s success before you start mining data will save a lot of time and frustration. This can be anything from Customer Lifetime Value to email Click-Through Rates to just simply site visits. Define these initial KPIs early then experiment with new data insights as they become available. But just as important, ensure that you have the right people extracting and creating these insights because without them, the data is just another stream of endless information. These people include your analysts, developers, marketers, or anyone with access to your data stream that can provide insight.

Please join me at the Big Data World Canada 2013 Conference on March 5 as I and other speakers present this topic and other related Big Data topics in more depth.