Small business challenges are quite different than challenges that face big business. Some small organizations do not incorporate technology. This is primarily due to the lack of staff to implement and maintain the data. And anything IT-related is pretty scary. Anything related to change in current processes is uncomfortable.

Although I believe “if it's not broke don’t fix it,” I also believe that change will bring about major improvements. Today’s economic conditions are forcing us to keep up with competition, And small businesses are frequently threatened by small mishaps. As consecutive generations take over family businesses they thankfully appear to be more comfortable with change and are starting to implement technology.

In helping small business migrate to technology we find it takes more than software implementation Here is how to “plant” Business Intelligence  in a small business.

Determine Challenges and problems

If there doesn’t appear to be any challenges or problems, small businesses won’t see the need to implement any technology. I am not suggesting you give them all the reasons to buy into technology; what I am suggesting is that you listen to the story of their business.

In talking with the wholesale grower, I found they were challenged by keeping track of their inventory, including disposing of damaged plants. Unfortunately it is hard to determine their return on investment since expenses such as electricity, water, pesticides, and labor are not easily tracked against surviving stock.

Discuss current processes

All businesses have some sort of procedure or method they use to accomplish daily requirements. Most likely these activities have been the same for the past 30 years. The elimination of time constraints and unnecessary activities will create time for technology.

Methods of data storage

Small businesses will likely have small databases and/or Excel. Those with small databases will need to go through a data cleansing processes; those using Excel should consider at least moving to a small database on their server (and perhaps backing up to the cloud), though this is not always possible due to the cost. Excel can be easily and safely used to store data for Business Intelligence if proper training, procedures and backup are in place.

Training

Training can be a bit more challenging in smaller businesses. Those who are averse to change or technology-challenged may not fully cooperate. Also, in many cases consultants are required to include process-changing training in addition to user training.

This is the perfect time to form a bond of trust with employees who will use the technology. Illustrating the ease of use, benefits, and rewards of technology will create the structure and foundation for continued use and ownership.

Support

Unlike larger organizations that have an IT staff, smaller businesses require support until they are able to successfully function on their own. The recommended length of time is approximately three months, and gives the organization an opportunity to:

• Set up technology standards
• Establish areas of responsibility
• Test policies and procedures
• Question data integrity
• Determine the next step for technology advancement
• Develop confidence in new procedures and technology

I believe small businesses, no matter how small, can benefit from technology, because technology provides the business opportunities to grow.

I watched a funny Ted Talk the other night. Artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli shared his vision of a more organized and tidier form of modern art. To create balance from chaos, he organized art to make sense out of it for himself and others. He accomplished this by stacking the parts up neatly, altering nothing but the original’s spatial arrangement of those elements.

By re-arranging data elements the spectator sees a new clarity. Granted, the re-arranged art no longer looks like the original, so its message comes across differently. We no longer see the face but the elemental shapes in a more structured format. I was amazed how a small changing to the arrangement dramatically changes our view. I would like to refer to this as Art Intelligence. The new picture looks like a bar graph.

This is similar to data analysis. We separate the data elements and re-arrange them in a way that makes sense to us. Ursus Wehrli discovered that the green elements were primarily squares with one circle. This may not be important to you and me but this may not have been discovered if the art was analyzed strictly in its original form.

It is difficult to predict what questions will arise when end users start exploring data. Business intelligence tools make it easy for the analyst to remix and re-arrange data in new and different views. The results:

• Provide a deeper understanding of the data
• Give clarity to groups of data by separating out the data elements
• Eliminate data elements that are not related to the data group
• Change the view of the data to enlighten the end user

When the data looks like chaos, Business Intelligence can encourage discovery that deepens understanding, eliminates the noise and enlightens the enterprise.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on big data. Like many I am still learning. But I do know that there is confusion and many don’t know if big data is a platform, process, methodology or just simply lots of data. What the BIWisdom Tribe seemed to focus on was that Big Data is just that… lots of data.

Big data is important but the most important thing to understand is how it effects an organization. Once realized, that can open the door to a Data Discovery plan to capture all available data. But there are ultimately challenges.

Collection of historical data
Organizations have collected all sorts of data throughout its existence. Generally it is the responsibility of an individual or small group of individuals to store the data. Hopefully when it is time for your company to implement Big Data there is at least one person who knows where the data is located (employees can come and go!). It’s also important to incorporate a data cleansing processes; data quality is more important than data quantity.

Talent
Big Data requires new thinking about architecture. With the Data Scientist craze do you think it would be beneficial to hire one? Data scientists are analytically-minded, statistically and mathematically sophisticated data engineers who have insights into business and other complex systems based on large quantities of data. These computer scientists can program, build software, combine and manage data from a variety of sources. They are great statisticians who know how to derive insights from large data sets. These individuals are hard to come by so are often scooped up by Fortune 500 companies.

But that is okay because tools today are accessible and can handle loads of data. Organizations that train the right person using the right tools can make a difference when given the freedom to explore. You will be surprised where you find this talent!

Discovery Plan
Access to a ton of data is great but Data Discovery is not going to take care of itself. If you want to get the most out of your information, it may be wise to take a corporate survey to find out what management wants to know. Without a plan Data Discovery is a waste of time and money. It is impossible to know how to structure the new data if management doesn’t understand what it consists of, how it may help them or even what they hope to gain. Pre-planning before diving into the data gives direction and purpose.

Unstructured Data
Unstructured data consists of emails, open-ended survey questions, web forms, call logs, discussion boards, SharePoint and Wikis to name just a few. What all seem to agree on is that all of these sources contain important information. Organizations have struggled to find ways to analyze and leverage this data. Platforms such as the Attivio Active Intelligence Engine® (AIE) address the need to draw in-depth understanding from unstructured content and integrate it with Big Data.

Executive Support
I understand that the implementation of any Big Data project is quite costly. And I also understand that there is only so much money in a budget in a given year. Convincing the individuals who hold the purse strings can be difficult without compelling evidence. Until executives realize that their issues may be caused by their data availability and limited data assets they will not support a Big Data project.

Big Data is not about the technology but about the way it helps organizations with their biggest analytical and data challenges.

I invite all of you to participate in the weekly BIWisdom chat on Twitter hosted by Howard Dresner, every Friday at 1:00pm, EST. Search #BIWisdom and follow the feed. I look forward to seeing you there. You can also follow me on Twitter @CindyBHarder.

Although the Visual Data Group team went to Qonnections this year, I stayed to keep the business running—being busy is a good thing. Yes, I was sad because Qonnections is a phenomenal event. I wanted to be able to visit with all who are involved in Social Media, it’s always great to match the names with faces. For a QlikView partner it is a must-attend event! But if you can’t go, what is the next best thing?

As last year, QlikView encouraged its partners to communicate with them regarding the conference with the hash tag #Qonnections. It was a very successful tool! I have been able to follow my QlikView friends throughout the conference. It’s been fun and informative watching the feed, viewing the event photos and being able to participate in the conversation.

Visual Data Group’s technology partner Industrial Code Box ,who developed QVSource, created a live feed for Qonnections that shows all the conference Twitter activities. This is a very popular dashboard!  I think we have all be competing to see who can be the top #Qonnections Tweeter.  Torbjorn Ungvall, (@Ungvall) Senior Business Discovery Manager at Advectas AB, is in the lead.  I think it is because he is the BI Rockstar!

The Qonnections 2012 on Twitter QVSource dashboard is no substitution for being at the conferene itself but at least I can say I was there in spirit! No doubt… I will be there next year to see all those folks in person. Thank you Industrial Code Box and my QlikView Social Media Friends.

Miami, April 23, 2012 — Visual Data Group (VDG) delivers one-stop Business Intelligence consulting and solutions with the addition of products from Attivio, Inc. Attivio’s Active Intelligence Engine® (AIE®) is the leading real-time unified information access platform.

The announcement comes at a time when Attivio and QlikTech, the industry-leading business discovery platform, have announced a new partnership. The Attivio-QlikTech partnership offers a new, powerful approach to achieving agile business intelligence, and VDG is the first North American reseller to take advantage of the combination as a certified reseller of both; VDG has been a reseller of QlikTech’s QlikView for more than four years. QlikTech’s partner meeting, Qonnections 2012, takes place in Miami this week.

“Attivio creates technology that makes Business Intelligence truly agile, easy to use, affordable, and rapidly quantifiable,” said Visual Data Group Principal James Harder. “The ability to fuse unstructured content with traditional, structured data will help Visual Data Group customers achieve new levels of data analysis and visualization.”

“We are pleased to add Visual Data Group to the Attivio Partner Network,” said Ali Riaz, CEO at Attivio. “It’s our partners who really show off our value propositions, and VDG really understands the value of fully integrating disparate data and content sources.”

“From risk mitigation in global banking to opportunities in manufacturing supply chains, Attivio alters the BI equation with its unsurpassed technology,” Harder continued. “This addition to our portfolio will help our customers seize opportunities quickly, solve critical challenges and fulfill their strategic vision.”

Businesses in North America can get Attivio’s Active Intelligence Engine from Visual Data Group. Call (440) 736-7151 to schedule a demonstration of VDG’s specialized expertise in business intelligence and data analysis.

About Attivio
Attivio’s unified information access platform, the Active Intelligence Engine (AIE), redefines the business impact of our customers’ information assets, so they can quickly seize opportunities, solve critical challenges and fulfill their strategic vision. Attivio correlates disparate silos of structured data and unstructured content in ways never before possible. Offering both intuitive search capabilities and the power of SQL, AIE seamlessly integrates with existing BI and big data tools to reveal insight that matters, through the access method that best suits each user’s technical skills and priorities. Please visit us at www.attivio.com.

About Visual Data Group
Visual Data Group delivers unsurpassed visibility quickly and affordably using the most agile and easy-to-use Business Intelligence applications and processes. VDG’s approach to data mining improves performance, reduces costs and allows businesses to make better-informed decisions more quickly. Visual Data Group is headquartered in Cleveland Ohio, with affiliate offices throughout the United States and Canada. Our certified technical and business consultants specialize in consumer products, manufacturing and logistics industries with a special focus on all aspects of supply chain management.

Cindy Balon Harder, a principal at Visual Data Group, was quoted this week in an article in the BrainYard, InformationWeek's social business blog.

The article, 5 Social Media Metrics That Matter Now, tapped Ms. Harder's insight in social media and the metrics that matter to business. Ms. Harder said that watching and analyzing the most popular pages, posts and tweets because "they serve as templates to help you broaden your prospecting net and deepen customer relationships."

As sales processes change with the economic conditions, marketing has been expected to become more responsive to return on investment. Obviously collecting customer data is not enough; marketing must contribute to the analytical process. Unfortunately, data is collected in multiple sources such as internal databases and external social networks. How can marketing effectively and successfully add value and dollars to the bottom line with the data available within the organization?

In the past, marketing has used sales data and customer behavior to make decisions regarding future marketing initiatives. Although customer data is important, they are already your customer. It is imperative to understand who is interested in your company and what they are saying about you, your brand, and your place in the market. It is equally imperative to know what your competitors are doing and how to get ahead of them.
Information from social networks bring in another perspective on the marketplace. The problem is, social networks are not easy to work with. If you cannot work with it, it has no value. For this reason, marketers need to apply tools that will allow them to look at all aspects of the data. This is where Web Analytics comes in.

Web analytics are beginning to make inroads in the business intelligence arena. Now organizations can capture their presence in the marketplace—as measured against their competitors—and have the ability to compare difference sources in the same place. The beauty of this is that is provides the end user a more granular view of the impact of a specific activity. The ability to customize marketing strategies is based on past performance. As a result there will be improvement in targeting audiences and providing the right messaging that will increase the bottom line.

Web analytics delivers tangible data information that is changing the approach to marketing.

Choose a web analytics tool
There are many free web analytics tools available but keep in mind that paid analytics users are 2.9 times more satisfied than free web analytics users. This is due to the fact that free analytic users experience difficulties or confusion while using the tool. Paid web analytics take many fee-based analytic tools and combines them, giving the end user a way to compare results.

Provide a KPI Dashboard to the Relevant Stakeholders
Although the marketing staff is responsible for the monitoring of the marketing activities, senior management and those responsible for ROI will more likely be supportive of the process. Visibility keeps everyone on the same page and encourages participation in decision making and changes.

Create and Plan of Implementation and Forward Marketing Strategy
The execution of a plan will not take place unless it is documented first. Following a plan determines measurement guidelines that support marketing activities. Understanding what areas of the organization have interest in marketing puts goals within the structure of the tool as well as the path of the strategy. The following capabilities should be part of the strategy:

• Key Marketing Metrics
• Marketing Effectiveness
• Monitoring Web content
• Marketing Message Customization
• What if (Predictive analysis)
• Sentiment analysis (positive / negative / neutral)

The contribution of marketing activities through the use of web analytics is more than just a tool to review web popularity. Web analytics gives evidence of success. It also contributes to the organizational bottom line by the incremental sales encouraged by well-run campaigns.

In the Mobile Minute “Beautiful Lovely Data", Donald Farmer, QlikView’s Product Advocate, tells us that stories are not static. As the story moves, the audience moves and becomes engaged. As the tale becomes more interesting, we want to know what is next so we continue reading or listening. How does this relate to Business Intelligence?

Well-designed dashboard are like interactive storybooks. As end users navigate by clicking, sliding and zooming through the screens they are engaging with the data. In the process, the information in front of them becomes a story. The information we discover becomes the theme and eventually provides a conclusion, answer or at least points to a direction. This is how we make decisions.

Like Donald Farmer, filmmaker Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story," "WALL-E") agrees that people remember stories. He makes the point that a storyline must provoke enough response to give the audience a reason to continue to the end. As the story draws us into its tapestry, we become part of the weave. This is the key to understanding what is happening and gives us a sense of ownership. Here are clues to a Great Business Intelligence Story:

1. Data is refreshed often.
2. Dashboard is complete without being overly complicated.
3. Data discoveries encourage further investigation.
4. Analyzing data is not only a job but enjoyable and rewarding.
5. Conclusions that draw decisions are accurate—at least for that moment in time—and bring about successful results.

When analyzing data, I allow the information to surround me and I move with its progress. This promotes data discovery that I could not have achieved without participating in its action. And it brings our imaginations to life which surfaces the questions how, why, and what if? At this point we want to know what happens in the end. The ending of stories are not always predictable but it is so much easier to draw a conclusion if we have the proper relationship to the information and are intrigued along the way.

We can’t always remember everything that we do on a day-to-day basis when analyzing data. But we can retain the most important discoveries by simply going with the flow of each interaction and following the BI storyline. This helps bring about growth and success.

Before I was introduced to business intelligence, I was a fan of Microsoft Excel. Organizations stored spreadsheets on a shared drive to allow multiple users to collaborate. The insert comment function provided a place to add thoughts, reasons for information changes, or questions. At that time, it was the best way to share with others. Due to the nature of spreadsheets, there were some challenges. Many times changes were not saved properly, causing confusion for the users. And let’s not forget those individuals who mistakenly deleted valuable information. My favorite was the spreadsheet with 5000 rows and 100 columns. These were a bit hard to work in.

  
As you can see collaboration is not a new concept. I believe that recent recognition of the importance of this concept has given us reason to take it to the next level. In a previous blog, “Visual Data Group Thrilled about QlikView 11 Possibilities”, I mentioned the excitement of our team when we shared QlikView’s collaboration. Potential customers who were on the border of making a purchasing decision now had another reason to consider QlikView.

With QlikView 11, capturing historical decisions has become easier and more reliable. The beauty of understanding why someone has changed, altered or created new information is the hidden treasure to make better decisions. Through collaborative tools, we are able to document changes and communicate to others.

QlikView 11 Social Business Discovery has taken the “insert comment” technique to the next level. Users can:

1. Save and swap bookmarks with team members so they can see exactly what you saw when you had your insight.
2. Create decision notes to highlight context and engage in discussions. You can start a discussion by taking a snapshot of the current state of your app and add comments or join a discussion already in progress.
3. Use annotations to serve as a lasting record of how decisions were made.
4. Bring co-workers into real-time collaborative discussions.

The best way to preserve decisions and the data behind them is to capture it in the analytic tool. You and your colleagues will never have to question where or why a change or decision originated.
 

I have discussed social analytics in my last two posts, and find I am still in awe of the API developed by QVSource. The geographical information delivered through it opens new doors, and is been a great tool when evaluating regional campaigns. Our diverse geographical reach makes this especially important for us. What we found exciting was to see the phenomenal growth of the Visual Data Group name brand throughout the world since 2008.

This week I was asked “What is the difference between Business Intelligence and Location Intelligence?” First we should define the term Location Intelligence. Naturally, Location Intelligence is based on location data: people, events, places, facilities and organizations in a geographical location. It also includes human behavior within those events and places. The data can come from various sources such as satellite, tagged photos, Google Earth, Bing, Twitter web analytics and any other applications that provide real-time information on earth. The data would also include IP addresses, latitude/longitude data, cell phone IDs, and even sentiment. The perfect data for any private eye!

Business Intelligence mainly refers to a computer technique used to identify, extract, analyze, and discover business data. With those definitions, the question is: Do organizations use location data to analyze their business needs? Of course they do! And they have been doing so for years. As long as there is data available and APIs to provide easy access to that data, business intelligence will be able to use the information.

Who can benefit from this information? Surprisingly many industries and organizations of all sizes use this data to gather market performance, analyze their advertising and campaign activities and compile inventory data from various locations. This would include the diverse agencies and companies such as military, law enforcement, retail and wholesale, healthcare and advertising.

So is there a difference between Location and Business Intelligence? There may have been, but it has been woven into the fabric of comprehensive BI.

A blog post here last week demonstrated the need for understanding organizational marketing efforts. Since then, I have had an opportunity to really dig into the data and was particularly interested in who was visiting via a mobile device. This is important because it gives me the perspective on what I need to do to ensure those visitors a positive experience on our website, but it also gives concrete evidence of the future of mobile devices.

According to a Gartner report “The Consumerization of BI Drives Greater Adoption,” 33 percent of BI functionality will be consumed by handheld devices by the year 2013. Consumers are expecting to see significant changes in the ease of use from these devices in order to accommodate their own needs. Individuals are no longer tied to their offices. They are out in the field, walking warehouse floors and traveling to destinations that allow them to broaden their responsibilities. These people want their mobile devices to do everything their laptops can do. If you have ever walked through an airport with your laptop, you will understand why you would rather carry something much smaller.

There continues to be a debate on whether or not mobile devices will ever replace a laptop. Many believe that the laptop is here to stay and that mobile devices will fill in for informational purposes only. I happen to disagree with this because it is not what the consumer wants. Technology evolves to accommodate the user.

Of the mobile devices used to visit our website, 55 percent were iPads, 29.09 percent were iPhones, and 15 percent were Android-based devices. I believe this is due to the fact that the iPad is much easier to use than the Android or the iPhone due to the size of the screen and, therefore, the on-screen keyboard. Frankly it is not as clumsy as a smart phone.

So why do people use tablets? Tablets are mostly used in the home rather than at work. According to an article in the Huffington Post “The Top Use for Tablets: Gaming (STATS)”, only 7 percent of users use their devices mostly for work. While…

• 84 percent of users play games
• 78 percent search for information
• 74 percent look at emails
• 61 percent read the news
 
Interestingly, 28 percent said that tablets were used as their primary computer and 77 percent reported a decrease in using their desktop and laptop computers. Why do we like tablets? They are fun to use. Touching, sliding and zooming in on information is part of the tablet user experience. It is colorful and interactive. As far as business is concerned, the visualization of the information helps us to quickly process information and act on it. That is fun as well.

Future use of mobile business intelligence devices will continue to grow as long as we continue to provide the technology to support the initiative in every organizational department. Expect to see more companies deploying the use of iPads to their employees and the adoption of mobile applications.