Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Big data knows no boundaries. It transcends geography, industry and departments. Big data is now everywhere, and every company, large or small, here or there, is wrestling with it.

Today, let’s take a look at what’s happening in Southeast Asia.

At Teradata, we have lots of customers and partners in Southeast Asia who are making terrific strides with data-driven marketing. But to do so, these change agents and pioneers have had to hurdle significant challenges. Relative to other regions within Teradata’s business, my colleagues in Southeast Asia tell me that most companies there are:

• Slow in the deployment of big data initiatives. The majority have adopted a “wait and see” approach.
• Focused –to a fault –on the technology. The companies that are eager to move forward want to take giant leaps, which leaves them struggling to skill up on complicated technology. As a result, they’re not able to engage their business users to plan for a successful business outcome.
• Neglecting the business context. The focus needs to be on providing technology solutions that enable the business to enhance analytic capabilities. The goal is not to just adopt new techniques, but to apply these new techniques in a relevant business context to drive further insight.

My advice? Step back and re-group. Companies in Southeast Asia (and elsewhere!) need to take a long-term, multi-pronged approach to big data, analytics and data-driven marketing. On the business side, you need to be develop a vision, and then a strategy –and it all has to be centered on the customer journey or experience. You need to ask questions like, “What was the set of events that led to a positive or negative experience for a customer? And “How can we improve our services for each and every customer?”

On the technical side, you need to experiment with replacing some of your traditional, aging storage infrastructures with an eye toward doing more in the future once the everyday business benefits of big data become clearer.

Several organizations are leading the way. In Southeast Asia, we’re seeing banks and telcos use analytics to improve operational processes, and even curb fraud. We’re seeing pharma companies leveraging big data to expedite bringing drugs to market, and we’re seeing non-profits making the most of their data to increase fundraising, as well as response time.

But probably the most prominent sector in Southeast Asia, as in the world, is retail. Leading retailers have learned that they can leverage customer data to improve the customer experience. They’re using data-driven marketing to deliver more relevant and meaningful offers at the right time, through the customer’s preferred channels.

As big data becomes more and more of a competitive differentiator, we’re also seeing that businesses in Southeast Asia are seeking out information about data-driven marketing and how it can drive revenue. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce that my book, Big Data Marketing: Engage Your Customers More Effectively and Drive Value, is now available in Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

In marketing specifically, big data analytics helps companies discern the “value” or “influence” at each step of the customer journey. Marketers can use these insights to create or modify their campaigns through attribution, i.e., knowing what’s working and what is not.

Of course, the biggest question I get from CEOs and other top executives is always this: “Where do we start?”

As I stress in my book, the answer is simple: Start small. Don’t try to boil the ocean. Shape a vision for what you want your customer’s experience to be. Then, start with a small but strategic project that leverages what is known, and grow the solution outward from there over time.

For more, see this earlier blog post where I describe my five-step plan to put data to work. The five steps include:

1. Step One: Get Smart, Get Strategic
2. Step Two: Tear Down the Silos
3. Step Three: Untangle the Data Hairball
4. Step Four: Make Metrics Your Mantra
5. Step Five: Process is the New Black

. . .  and they’re universal, no matter where your company is based. It’s time to start an active dialogue across your business. You need to get customer insights now, and begin defining a future state and the key success factors you’ll need to get there. Define a vision and get the help you need to turn it into business strategies that drive more value.

This article was originally published blogs.teradata.com and can be viewed in full here

(0)(0)