Big data and reporting influence business operations

Big data is hovering around at buzzword status, but for many businesses, the trend has become a major initiative to improve overall operations. Insight gained from big data and reporting tools has driven more educated decisions and helped to develop organization processes. While big data was once considered something only for larger companies, firms of all sizes are able to leverage their metrics to boost their capabilities and innovate how they perform on an everyday basis.

While the effects of big data may not be readily apparent to consumers, decision-makers are realizing the true value of these tools by actively utilizing reporting to gauge improvements. Entire industries are changing their method of operations in order to actively incorporate big data and reap the business advantages therein. Forbes contributor Brian Honigman noted that the travel sector in particular has been utilizing their gathered information to provide a more personalized experience for clients. Big data analytics and reporting can tell what flights are the most sought after, what time of year will be the busiest and how customers prefer to fly. With these elements addressed, airlines, hotels and other travel organizations can prepare themselves to handle visitor needs. This could mean providing particular services that are more in demand during that time of year, or simply scaling staffing efforts to handle the traffic flux.

"Big data can help travel companies understand the ongoing requests of their customer base and identify patterns in consumer behavior to determine offerings they may want in the future," Honigman wrote.

Ingraining data into the enterprise
While information has always been a business asset, department-specific data was often siloed, preventing employees from having all of the statistics on hand. With a report designer, workers will be able to see how this content is interconnected and can collaborate for advancement. One essential source of data will come from the staff members themselves. ZDNet contributor Natalie Gagliordi noted that with more mobile devices entering the workplace, taking information from employee apps about how people behave will help identify what areas are succeeding and which are lacking productivity.

When considering big data initiatives for business reporting purposes, it's important to have a vendor that is reputable and reliable. Gagliordi stated that some legacy providers may be able to improve their own solutions to offer big data services in line with more agile companies. Asking for a test phase may help weed out which offerings are right for the organization and ones that fall short of user demands.

"Customers expect big data, it's assumed in today's world when you are working with an enterprise," industry expert David Steinberg told ZDNet. Steinberg went on to say that if vendors cannot provide better analytics services than the legacy ones businesses currently have, clients will likely go with more advanced providers.

As businesses look for ways to improve their operations, they must give careful consideration to big data and reporting tools. These services will help them boost their performance and present arguments in a way that viewers can easily understand to make informed decisions.