Tag Archives: big data

The days of knowledge management are over. We need knowledge architects

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knowledge managementIf you want to find one of the most vague, misunderstood, but critical roles in an enterprise it’s probably in a division called “knowledge management.” There’s a good chance that it’s not actually called that for fear of reprival. Fate wasn’t kind – and for that matter those pursuing the early stages of KM didn’t have it right. Organizations spent a large part of the new millennium investing in large toolsets, people, and infrastructure that largely became obsolete with the surge of web 2.0. Britannica vs Wikipedia… we know how that story went.

At the same time, it doesn’t take much of a leap of logic to connect the needs (and promises) of Knowledge Management with the reemergence of a world focused on “social business”, both in and out of the enterprise. Call it Enterprise 2.0, Social Business, or Knowledge Management, it’s all fundamentally the same thing – organizing knowledge and data in a way that’s most useful to those that want it and those that have it… simultaneously.

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Why data matters so much in the social business (and what to do about it)

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big data funnelUsually big trends in business follow on the footsteps of new research or data staking the claim of transformational ROI. Whether it’s a system (HRM, CRM, ERP/M), a process (six sigma) or a style (management rotations, profit sharing) just about all of these major business trends came about after extensive trial and error, piloting, testing, and researching. We live in a fundamentally changed world if you didn’t notice.

Everything that is now “social” went just about backwards – all of a sudden “social” was producing disruptive amounts of data that cut across organizational units and so a new business trend emerged… big data.

As we’re just beginning to see the way big data plays out across different functions and industries, it got its start in some way as a way to find ROI for everything “social”. In fact, as Dion Hinchcliffe pointed out last month, just about everyone is trying to buy their way into “social” (but more on that another time). Whether it’s because staff expect it (they use it in their personal lives) or it’s how their customers are spending their time (mobile, social, both), for- and not-for profit organizations have dramatically amped up their digital analytics teams to make the most of the change.

But there’s a bigger question that comes first: is Big Data for you?

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How and why to ignore big data (for now)

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Big Data testingFor the last 9 months, “big data” has been hotter than a new Thomas Keller joint in Manhattan. Everyone’s looking to get a reservation, scrapping other plans, ditching budgets, and looking to get in without really knowing what they’ll get out. Early reviews from the pro critics are good, but the “public” vote is still out. A bit too “experimental” and not enough lovin’.

Sound familiar? If your org has yet to really dig into the “big data” phenomenon it’s likely because a) you don’t think it applies to you (it does), or b) you already have “analytics” shops set up in your business units and don’t have time to add something new to your fiscal plans (or budgets). Then there’s also the c) option – you’re small, like data, but don’t have the “capacity” for it.

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Great Reads: new digital strategies and technologies for the cloud

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After last month’s SAP Sapphire event where all the buzz was about SAP’s big “move to the cloud” there have been a few notable articles and posts around the web about how businesses are starting to adopt to the changing ecosystem of big data, user-driven technologies, and all things mobile. Here are a few key ones not to miss, many by the folks at Enterprise Irregulars.

To improve your data and analysis, start with mindsets

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data drivenWhat does it mean to be data driven? Hopefully your first thought wasn’t a dashboard with pretty lines – a way to check your PTG. Being data-driven in some ways is harder than ever, not because of the the type of data or analysis needed, but because of the need to simplify the tidal waves of it coming from all spaces around us. While Business Intelligence is nothing new, we have more real inputs into our business models than before, and thanks to more accessible CRMs and so forth, more ways to pull up and look at that data for the lay worker. This is ultimately a good thing, but not so good until you really know how to use data, and that starts not by getting your degree in statistics or advanced math, but by getting in the right mindset about how you should be using data in your role.

First, a story.

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Great reads: how big data is affecting non profits

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Somewhat surprisingly, it seems like the only area in the non profit sector where big data is making much of a splash is in marketing with social media taking the spotlight. It’s a shame we’re not seeing more out of something like mission- or fundraising-oriented analysis. Here are a few good picks on the topic:

Using collaboration analytics to find your all stars

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Jeremy LinA recent post about Linsanity from the Enterprise Irregulars crowd went almost unnoticed. Not a lot of retweeting. Maybe because NY basketball isn’t what most folks in big data are paying attention to these days, or maybe it’s because Lin is a perfect Black Swan. However you cut it, Jason Corsello ends his short post with a question: “why aren’t most companies analyzing their employee data to find the rising stars?” Good question.

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