Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business

Chapter 13

Call to Action

Now that you've studied all the materials, techniques, methods, and worksheets in the book, let's summarize all of the action items from the different chapters into a single call-to-action checklist. This checklist will help prepare your organization for the big data journey by addressing the specific actions that you can take to leverage big data to power your organization's key business initiatives, optimize your key business processes and uncover new monetization opportunities. This checklist puts you on the path to understanding how data powers big business.

Identify Your Organization's Key Business Initiatives

• Identify, research, and understand your organization's key business initiatives and key business opportunities.
• Leverage publicly available sources to triage your organization's key business initiatives. Sources include annual reports, quarterly analyst calls, industry research and publications, executive presentations, and competitive activities.
• Leverage the Big Data Strategy Document to break down your organization's business strategy into its key business initiatives and the supporting key performance indicators (KPI), critical success factors (CSF), desired outcomes, execution timeframe, key tasks, and business stakeholders.
• Begin with an end in mind.

Start with Business and IT Stakeholder Collaboration

• Big data is about business transformation. Consequently, there must be a close collaboration between business and IT stakeholders from ...