Essay About Big Data And B2B Strategy

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CC2 – Big Data:Data can come as:Digital TextualVisualAuralOther sensory (touch, smell)Big data: Broad term for large sets of data. Difficult to analyze with traditional processing applications3 V’sVolume – the amount of data Variety – the sources of dataVelocity – the speed with which it is generatedData exhaust:Much produced data is thrown awayEx: air traffic measures weather patterns, bird patterns. Valuable to scientistsBenefits of big data:Small/little data is expensiveEx: credit card transactions – need to be preciseBig data is nearly free, considering the volumeEx: GPS system – can be approx.Small data can be too costly, too slow, and unfeasibleBig data can tell you what, but not always whyEx: Walmart data shows spike of Pop Tart sales during hurricane predictions – why? Who cares.Who owns the big data? Zuckerberg (Facebook), Brin (Google), Bezos (Amazon) – big data baronsCC3 – Digital Products:Digital products are profitable because:No inventoryUnlimited supplyEasy to update/changeDistribution channel is always openTraditional commerce: raw material – production – finished goods – warehouse – retailer – transaction – customerE-commerce (physical goods): raw materials – production – finished goods – warehouse – transaction – customerE-commerce (digital): raw materials – production – finished goods (digital storage) – digital distribution channel – transaction/customerCC4 – B2B Strategy:B2B is the biggest market – estimate $8 trillion in the US (B2B retail)They compete on all the same aspects:PriceFeaturesAvailabilityAll the value proposition stuffBusiness models:Standard B2B – petGRO 2BStandard B2C – petGRO 2CConcentrator B2B2C (Amazon) – B2 petGRO 2CBroker B2Bx2C (eBay, Kijiji) – B2C facilitated by petGROCC5 – Enterprise Systems:Systems that support end-to-end processes. Key driver is to be able to effectively manage a business process from beginning to end.Most common is a functional structure:Divide organization into functions (or departments)Leads to vertical (or functional) silosThe silo effect:Different functional areas come to perform their steps in process isolationComplete their part, hand it to the next person, and then move onFocusing on their specific tasks made them lose sight of the “big picture”View a company from a process perspective requires employees to “think sideways”Advantages of having an ES system:Streamlined data handling – higher accuracy, faster data handling internally, fewer data entry errorsBetter data sharing (via common database) – more efficient operations and cost reductionsHaving integrated IS – cooperation between functional areasImproved management reporting – better top management controlLeads employees to thinking about corporate goals – not merely functional goalsOne IS for the entire company – helps overcome effects of geographical dispersion in companies with far-flung operationsES replaces old legacy system – no longer must be maintained, cost savings, less software needs to be writtenDisadvantages:High cost initiallyPotentially long implementation times – requires great planning and management attentionNeed to hire consultants to help implement – loss of control + expensiveES can be somewhat configured to fit the company’s needs but the company must adopt at least some practices demanded by the ESEmployees must be aware that errors made in one module will quickly ripple through the integrated system, and affect the use of other modules – training and experience is needed to properly adopt the systemImplementation problems:Some executives naively hope ES will cure fundamental business problemsSome executives and IT managers don’t take enough time for proper analysis and planning for implementationSome executives skimp on education and proper training Sometimes the ownership of the implementation project is not given to the employees who will use the systemTop executive support is not always givenThe organizational change process is not managed wellCC6 – CRM:Helps a company manage:Customer encountersMarketing and advertisingSalesCustomer service after the saleCustomer retention programsBenefits:Improved customer satisfactionIncreased customer retentionReduced operating costsAbility to meet customer demandCRM software automates and integrates the function of sales, marketing and service