One way to use analytics is to go after "big data." IBM recently posted a sponsored article on Huffington Post that talks about mining RFIDs, social media and something nebulously referred to as a "quantum leap" in data collection. The problem for small business is that accessing all these areas of data can be quite expensive, especially when using RFIDs for high volume, low margin product.
Michael Schroeck, the author of the article, talks about big data in four spheres of influence: Volume, Velocity, Variety and Veracity. Volume refers to the sheer amount of stuff (data) that is being produced. Velocity refers to the speed this stuff is being created and transmitted; for instance, an hour of video is uploaded to You Tube every second. Variety means that this data is not very structured; it's in emails, tweets, videos, etc. Finally, veracity refers to the uncertainty involved with the data; simply put, you don't know what you're really getting.
So, how do we simplify this? Do we really need Ph.D.s in Statistics to get anything out of the data we have sitting in our possession already? Is it possible that the data we already have is adequate to significantly improve our lives at home and at work without sticking an electronic tag to everything? I think it is.
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