Big data, massively parallel processing, machine learning, NLP – all these terms are very hot buzzwords nowadays. Everyone wants to have big data in their company, because it sounds trendy and professional. But according to Eurostat, micro and small enterprises are the majority of all businesses in the EU. Are all these companies at a loss just because they produce small amounts of data or haven’t started the data revolution yet?
There are many reasons why you should gather and analyze data. A company or organization which possesses data or has access to required data is undoubtedly at advantage. Data is not just simply numbers and tables but the undue advantage which an entity can have over its competitors. Based on a study done by SAS, it has been revealed that 72% of organizations claimed that data analytics have been critical to their innovativeness.
Digitization has made processes relatively cost-effective. Relying on data, you can make more accurate decisions which directly helps in cost reduction and better productivity. Except for all these internal factors, we can’t forget about customer relations. Preparing targeted offers based on the customer’s previous activity can improve the customer experience and pay off with further orders. Additionally, a satisfied customer is priceless and becomes the best advertisement for the company.
Mark Stouse, chairman and CEO of Proof Analytics, says that for business leaders, a confidence level around 50, 60 or 70% is enough. They don’t need high precision, but direction. Being able to recompute on the fly makes small data much like a GPS. “It allows you to navigate the problem and make changes,” no different than changing the route on a road trip, Stouse said. Taking this into account, small companies with not much data can still be beneficiaries of the data revolution. It’s not important how much data you need, but how you utilize it.
Collecting data is the first step, but another vital activity is processing and visualizing. Depending on how much data you have and/or how much money you want to spend, you can adjust your toolstack to provide the best value for money for your company.
Below you can find several ideas on how to handle your data in a micro- to midsize company.
MS Excel
Some say it’s the best BI tool ever. You can collect and store the data, clean it, transform and visualize it. Using Visual Basic, you can lift your spreadsheets to another level and make complex actions and calculations.
What’s worth to notice, Excel is present in almost every computer in any company, so we can assume the
company doesn’t have to incur additional costs.
Power BI
Another great tool from Microsoft. If you are an advanced Excel user, you should be able to switch to Power BI without much time spent. Of course Power BI is a really powerful tool, and it’s not just a „better Excel”. To utilize all of its features, you need to be a specialist, but for basic purposes you don’t need such a detailed knowledge. Nevertheless, it’s worth spending some money on hiring a Power BI consultant who will prepare a good model and/or help with the visualization. Power BI Desktop is free and it might be an excellent option for micro companies. To share reports and dashboards across users using the Power BI portal you need to purchase a subscription.
Azure cloud
Azure cloud gives you an ultra-wide spectrum of possibilities. You can use it not only for enterprise business solutions but also medium or even small companies. Of course, using Azure Synapse Analytics for a small grocery shop is completely pointless, but there are many ways to build an effective Azure solution without spending a fortune.
The first and most important factor of using the cloud for small and medium companies is that they don’t need their own infrastructure. That changes everything. You don’t need server room or managing operating systems or software. You actually don’t even need servers at all, you can use serverless or managed services.
Although usage costs of the cloud are relatively low, in most cases, it’s not a solution a company can build by itself. It requires hiring specialists who will configure resources and networking, design flows, processes and automation. However, this investment will pay off in lower usage and operating costs.
Thanks for reading!
Hope you enjoy it and if you'd like to talk more about it, please reach out to me via email: maciek@faro.team
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