March 7, 2016 | less than a minute read

Get Smart - Avoiding the Hype Surrounding Big Data

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Freddy Dobinson

Head of Client Experience

Get in touch

Freddy Dobinson

Head of Client Experience

The noise generated by "big data" distorts ones' ability to obtain actionable insights from digital analytics. Rather than collecting all of the data available, David Dubois of INSEAD suggests first thinking about desired outcomes, and once defined, to then search for relevant data sources.

As outlined, the key to successful digital intelligence involves overcoming 3 challenges:

1. Knowing what data to listen to (Operational)

2. Defining how to share the digital insights (Organisational)

3. Understanding how to utilise insights as a process for creating value (Strategic)

Once determined, these foundations give companies the agility to understand and anticipate market movements, thus creating a "sustainable competitive advantage".

Digital intelligence is not so much about quantity but rather about the quality of information. Unfortunately the now popular buzzword “big data” emphasises and overvalues the magnitude of data. Successful digital listening relies less on how much information is heard and more on the quality of one’s listening approach and the extent to which this fits with what the brand aims to achieve. Brands need to think about the kind of value they aim to create before tuning their listening strategy appropriately... In short, digital intelligence is more about smart data than big data.