Big data. It’s a word one can’t avoid hearing if involved in running a business. Most employees are aware of what big data is and how useful it can be. Awareness is only the first step in a long journey, however. After realizing the need for more data comes the daunting task of finding ways to get access. Even scarier is trying to get that access without destroying the budget. Here are a few tips to getting access to big data when your budget doesn’t seem like it will allow it.
Do the research and pay for a good platform
When is is all is said and done it may turn out to be worth it just to roll up the sleeves and buy the software. There is quite literally a software for everything nowadays. There is software for identifying everything from real estate signals to online purchasing trends to real estate investor software. If there is a way to get access to the budget and the proper research is done, there is a good chance the right data software will more than pay for itself.
Use open source software
This is completely legal and can be completely free, though usually it ends up costing a fair amount. There is lots of free software out there that will help organize data. Unfortunately, it will probably not work the way you want it to without modifications, and those will likely require a developer to help build.
Partnerships
They say there is no need to reinvent the wheel and they are completely right. Too often do businesses spend money gathering and analyzing data that another similar company has already spent a lot of time an money on. So work together! Build a network within your industry (not with direct competitors obviously), and share the cost of gathering big data.
Focus on what you need
Doesn’t everybody hate when they go to a website and try to buy something or get access to something and the site requires them to fill out an excessive amount of information? Even worse is when the site makes you fill out the same stuff twice.
The same is true for big data. Don’t waste time gathering useless data just for the sake of having the data. Instead, take a careful and detailed approach to determining what kinds of information you are looking for and focus on those.
Take advantage of free platforms
There are dozens of free platforms out there that can be used for a different purpose than planned. One new tool that businesses are taking advantage of is Facebook. Facebook has vast amounts of data that have been gathered, stored and manipulated with OLAP on Hadoop. Facebook then offers access to this data to advertisers. Look-alike audiences give the ability to find customers similar to different groups that you can target.
Collect everything you can
Often the key to getting access to important data is staring a business right in the face . Google Analytics and other tracking software programs can pull data from a website and give great insights about customers, trends, and more regardless of what kind of internet service they are using.
The big takeaway here is to do it! If you aren’t taking advantage of the vast amounts of data available in today’s internet-driven world than there is a good chance your business will not survive. So go get your real estate investor software and hit the ground running!