Have you discovered how your company can most profit from big data? The potential is too high to risk leaving it up to IT!

Big Data--the enormous amount of data that is created as virtually every movement, transaction, and choice we make becomes digitized--is revolutionizing business.

Organizations can use all this data to glean valuable insight into how best to serve their customers. Big Data is drastically changing business, with companies that have implemented a Big Data strategy financially outperforming their peers by 20 percent. But in order to make sense of the vast amount of information available--from terabytes, to exabytes or even brontobytes--your organization needs to use the right algorithms, tools, and metrics...and it must have a Big Data strategy in place. This book gives readers everything they need to develop a profitable Big Data strategy...and reveals why it's not something organizations can leave to the IT department.

Filled with practical guidance for ensuring that your company stays ahead of the curve, Think Bigger provides you with a clear understanding of the possibilities--and what you must be doing--as this disruptive new technology changes how organizations are managed and operated. You'll find out how:

* Walt Disney World introduced the "MagicBand" wireless wristband to collect real-time location data, purchase history, information about riding patterns, and more, enabling them to make better decisions, improve the park's offerings, and tailor marketing messages while providing a magical experience for their guests.

* Nike improved business, sustainability, quality, and cost by tracking materials in a vendor index, and adding value to their supply chain.

* Purdue University helped students achieve their maximum potential--and boosted retention--by tracking engagement, performance, risk, and feedback for remarkable, award-winning results.

The book reveals how any organization, large or small, can make a business case for Big Data initiatives, prepare for the next wave of soon-to-be in-demand positions such as Big Data Scientists and Managers, and use technologies like Hadoop and Mapreduce to make sense of the data they have. The book makes sense of the latest trends including the mobile revolution, gamification, the Internet of Things, the quantified self and more, while looking ahead to the future of this remarkable development in how business is done.

Correctly managed, Big Data can help you get to know your customers and clients in real time, improve your products, personalize your pricing, identify risks, improve customer support, and identify new markets. Filled with easy-to-understand explanations and case studies across various industries, this book maps out a blueprint for Big Data done right.

Big data--the enormous amount of data that is created as virtually every movement, transaction, and choice we make becomes digitized--is revolutionizing business. Offering real-world insight and explanations, this book provides a roadmap for organizations looking to develop a profitable big data strategy...and reveals why it's not something they can leave to the I.T. department.

Sharing best practices from companies that have implemented a big data strategy including Walmart, InterContinental Hotel Group, Walt Disney, and Shell, Think Bigger covers the most important big data trends affecting organizations, as well as key technologies like Hadoop and MapReduce, and several crucial types of analyses. In addition, the book offers guidance on how to ensure security, and respect the privacy rights of consumers. It also examines in detail how big data is impacting specific industries--and where opportunities can be found.

Big data is changing the way businesses--and even governments--are operated and managed. Think Bigger is an essential resource for anyone who wants to ensure that their company isn't left in the dust.