Big Data Solutions for Supporting Customer Intimacy Strategy

Table of Contents
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................1

1.1. Aims and Objectives.............................................................................................1

2. Big Data Intelligence and Its Importance in Decision Making....................................2

3. Comparison between the use traditional Business Intelligence (BI) and BI Using Big
Data...................................................................................................................................3

4. Role of Big Data management in IT Process management.......................................4

5. How structured and unstructured data can be merged for decision making?............5

6. Role of Social Media in Organizations Decision Making............................................6

7. Technology Stacks and Data Analytics Tools..............................................................7

8. Reflections and Conclusions.....................................................................................10

References.......................................................................................................................12
1. Introduction

According to Herodotou et al, (2011), there exist three kinds of generic strategies that
are also known as value disciplines. The first one is operational excellence which
focuses on business procedures for extracting cist and improving productivity and
quality. The next one is product leadership which is creating innovative and pioneering
products and services that may act as game changers. Finally, the third one is customer
intimacy, in which the company moves beyond autonomous dealings to intensive,
longer customer relationships, through better commitment, knowledge and anticipation
of explicit and researched customer requirements. In the present day digital age,
customer intimacy is supported trough digitally enabled relationships that comprise of
big data analytics which involves processing huge volumes of data as end sale
dealings.

Customer intimacy is precisely the opposite of independent or anonymous dealings.

Once the profit from any transaction has been derived, customer intimacy aims for
longer term profitability. According to Ghazal et al, (2013), customer intimacy is a
competitive approach, a business method, a corporate structure that is packaged into
one entity and holding together different kinds of similar relationships.

1.1. Aims and Objectives

The Present report aims to analyze the application of Big Data within an organization
for supporting the customer intimacy strategy. A key aspiration of the report is define
and explain the technology stacks and required data and analytics that are essential
for supporting the customer intimacy strategy. Further the report analyses the
importance of big data for the organization, the ways trough which structured and
unstructured data can be merged for decision making and the role of social media in
organizational decision making.

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The objectives of the report can be listed specifically as:

To study the importance of Big Data intelligence for the organization and
customer intimacy
To analyze the role of Big Data management in IT Process management
To examine the significance of merging structured and unstructured data for
decision making
To assess the role of social media in organizational decision making

2. Big Data Intelligence and Its Importance in Decision Making

According to Chandramouli, Goldstein and Quamar (2013), it is not sufficient to use

instinct which is eventually derived from prior knowledge of the individual as a root for
creating decisions in a fast transforming business atmosphere that is filled with data. In
the view of Elgendy and Elragal (2014), if one observes organizations that are rising
quicker than their peers, those are the organizations that are examining their data and
operating business research, performing analysis to make their decisions. It has been
noticed that around 50% of these rising organizations were employing analysis in order
to make decisions, and only 10% of those rising more gradually than their rivalry were
employing that approach. Thus it is apparent that an analytic device with big data can
make better decision making, and the organizations that are more superior on that track
are actually making higher performance.

While customer intimacy helps in building various independent mutual relationships

among the corporation and its customers, customer intimacy by means of big data
intelligence helps in deepening these relationships by providing insights for better
decision making. For instance, when an internet selling website such as Amazon.com
recommends any product to its customers, they use big data analysis, that becomes a
trademark of customer intimacy. These insights and processed information are not just
derived on the basis of individual relationships that exists neither with any single
customer, nor as an average of multiple relationships with different customers, but on
the basis of date extracted from for example, billion of customers and millions of visits.

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Customer intimacy through big data intelligence is not merely significant for retail
companies but also for the present case for instance the in the present case the
organization aims for personalized services for customers not just on the basis of the
requirement of each customer bit also analyzing and comparing each customers
requirements with the collected data of different customer profiles.

3. Comparison between the use traditional Business Intelligence (BI) and BI

Using Big Data

According to Kumar, Niu and Re (2013), business intelligence is a collection of

techniques and tools for modifying the collected data into useful information that can be
used by the organization for analytical purposes.

Having numerous data facilitates to detain customer behavior and environmental

features. Through being capable of understanding customer behavior much more
intimately, an individual is capable of figuring out what is happening due to some
measures.

These are the aspects that can distort consequences, unless an individual has a right
system control group on which to perform an analysis. Now that an individual has the
data, he/she is capable of arising with much fresher results. And that is moving people
from "is this functioning or not?" to in fact being capable of observing what is taking
place, and not wasting time on discussing whether the data is correct, but spending
their time understanding the outcomes and then setting up business procedures on that
basis.

It is apparent that a number of organizations are still making effort with how to create
decisions. What one frequently observes is that there will be a big decision under
debate, and every operational team of an organization will be utilizing data to support

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the opinion on the measure. Frequently it will be promotion that has a specific initiative
they need to run, whether it is a marketing campaign or something else.

It has been observed that in numerous companies politics plays an important role in
making a big decision. In the course of a day, one creates several small decisions that
are just notified by knowledge. But when compared to a decision that is compound, it is
progressively clearer that organizations want that decision to be supported by business
data, by a number of data-based information.

By means of business intelligence the company will be capable to handle huge amounts
of unstructured data, merging it with structured data and thus recognize existing
business opportunities as well as create new ones. Business intelligence helps in easier
understanding and interpretation of data. If the company will be able to identify and
create opportunities then it will automatically provide company with competitive
advantage and longer term steadiness.

According to Wu et al (2014), customer intimacy is displayed by any company not in

terms of its products/services or pricing, but in higher levels of service, guidance,
experience and support facilitated to the clientele; these are corporations that constantly
amaze customers through their exceptional knowledge, care and relaxed sales persons
who provide detailed assistance and support regarding products and services. The case
company illustrates a similar approach through firm wide customer based corporate
culture, organizational effectiveness, flexible services and experienced salespersons.
However, these are presently conducted through conventional approaches. The digital
revolution that involves big data has expanded value culture into digital culture and
methods of customer intimacy includes big data collection and management, data
analytics, data management, computing efficiency and social network integrations.

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4. Role of Big Data management in IT Process management

Big data management facilitates in recognizing essential information for the company.
Moreover, Big Data is ahead of relational and conventional databases. There are
various technologies that are well-matched with procedures and save non-transactional
data. For Big Data relational and conventional databases as well as non-transactional
data require to be merged. In the procedure the decision should be made regarding
what data can be kept and examined so as to develop present business methods or
offer companies with the competitive gain. Managing numerous types of data is known
as Big Data management. The Big Data management maintains the record of all the
method and resources needed by the company.

Merely augmenting the IT processes by means of an intelligent algorithm is not

sufficient. Big data intelligence needs to be implemented in a cost effective manner
across the organization. For instance, having enormous amount of data implies that
computing ability has to be increased to that much level. Some of the data collection
and management methods can be so extensive and complicated that it can be beyond
the current scope of the corporation. Therefore as purported by Gupta and Mohania
(2012), the company needs to adapt the data tolls as per the requirement of the
organization. Furthermore, having technologies that can maintain the required efficiency
even at the requires amount to data is only one other challenges, another major
challenge for the company will be to maintain huge amount of data and processing
resources in a reliable and cost effective manner either by means of in house server or
server provider external agency. According to Russom (2011), companies should not
wait for failure of resources to react rather it should develop techniques and tools or
outsource them so as to constantly increase the resilience of their big data intelligence.

Corporation has to start by data collection that necessitates active customer

involvement like using services and providing feedback. Moreover such types of data
are direct and barrier free. Reviewing, queuing and giving time for feedback are actually
indicators of customer preferences and intention. The company can use services of a

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thirds party that can help in providing technology that can maintain records of ever
purchase or usage of services, Moreover, in this way company can analyze data more
extensively.

5. How structured and unstructured data can be merged for decision making?

According to Kumar, Niu and Re (2013), obtaining value from Big Data needs uniting
unstructured content with structured data in a manner that facilitates customers to get
deeper knowledge than possible with examination of structured data only.

It is usual information that more data punches smarter algorithms on the basis of
analytics. It has been recognized that over 90% data of the world is unstructured or
semi-structured. Thus, to determine really game-changing knowledge by means of
analytics, unstructured and multi-structured data should be incorporated in the
fundamental amount.

Obtaining business value from Big Data Analytics needs uniting varied data sources,
consisting of unstructured data, and obtaining intelligence throughout these previously
used data sources. While examining any one data source offers marginal value, united
Big Data Analytics give exponentially more influential knowledge.

CIOs should also prolong to enhance communication and association between IT and
business divisions to guarantee thriving Big Data tasks. Merging internal and external
data sets in a significant manner that facilitates perceptive examination needs the input
of both data inventors/engineers, those who are familiar with the data structures and
business analyst and other lines-of-business staff, those with field knowledge that are
familiar with questions to ask the data.

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6. Role of Social Media in Organizations Decision Making

Information technology is transforming that way of communication, attain and process

information for individual and decisions related to work. Social media is the word most
frequently utilized for the new IT applications that generate vibrant, interactive
information relations (Laptev, Zeng and Zaniolo, 2013). Social media is raising its
diffusion in the lives of humans. Up to now the facts proposed that in various
circumstances the effect on individual and managerial decision making is widespread.
The union of the Internet, Web 2.0 as well as mobile technologies has formed a
disruptive movement in business. The period of Business-to-Person (B2P)
communications made by all things social (social impact, social networks and social
media) has appeared as a new form of engagement and Social Media Peer Groups
(SMPG) have developed to take significant and prominent form in a new business and
financial situation.

In a report conducted by Herodotou et al (2011), around 90% of people are capable of

accelerating decision process and information/plan development by taking part in online
societies. Support (such as comment, share, like and tweet) is at the core of association
in social media societies. The Crescendo Effect in social media atmospheres has
greatly affected buying decisions. According to Ghazal et al (2013), the crescendo
impact is just how many Tweets, Facebook, LinkedIn states and other digital ways of
notification a blog might obtain. This is dominant for the reason that the new stream of
affect, (which has transformed into a new type of marketing and word of mouth
promotion,) acts like a crescendo with the system of whoever liked the blog sufficient to
identify it.

On the other hand, accessible tools such as YouTube and Facebook have amplified
connectedness significantly. Several transformations from these technologies are
expected to boost the prudence and efficiency of decision making while others might in
fact depressingly effect decision-making. For instance, transformations that assist

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companies change behavior of customer that might cause suboptimal decisions by
customers.
Humans are social beings and customer intimacy not just means intimacy between the
customers and the organization but also amongst the customers. The company can
manage customers social networks and connections by means of social graph and thus
develop insights into customers desires and requirements m for instance facebooks
social graph, platforms and APIs can be used for this purpose.

7. Technology Stacks and Data Analytics Tools

Master Data Management

According to Rittman (2010), master data is the support of the majority organizations.
Organizations cannot perform their daily business without having fundamental records
on consumers, products, distributors, human resources, places, etc. Across almost
every sector, the amount of operational information is increasing exponentially in both
amount and difficulty.

Adversely, in the majority of corporations, this operational information is copied and

dispersed across numerous systems and functions. As it grows separately, it turns out to
be error-prone and makes decision makers from having a combined perception of
operational intelligence. The contrasting information also averts consumers from
receiving the correct and suitable information they require to make decisions on buying.

Actually, most transactional data is connected in a number of manners to master data.

Thus missing data, low class information and unreliable or incorrect records have a
great effect on income, efficiency, expenditure, agreement, suppleness and decision
making. Thus, managing this master-level information positively as it runs through the
organization is crucial to enhance performance of the business.

ETL/ELT systems

ETL systems normally incorporate data from numerous applications (systems),

classically developed and maintained by diverse vendors or hosted on individual

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computer hardware. The different systems including the novel data are repeatedly
managed and functioned by diverse human resources, for instance in the present case,
a cost accounting system might unite data from payroll, sales and buying. Thus these
systems will help in customer intimacy by offering the information constantly. This will
help in reorganizing the data so that it gives exceptional query performance, even for
compound logical queries, without affecting the operational structures. This will also
help to reorganize the data so that it makes logic to the business users.

Data Warehousing

According to Preeti, Srikantha and Suryakant (2011), data warehousing preserves a

copy of information from the source transaction structures. This architectural
complication offers the prospect for adding significance to operational business
appliances, particularly customer relationship management (CRM) in the organization
for developing customer intimacy.

The company can assemble data from numerous sources into a particular database so
a solitary query engine can be utilized to present data. In this way the company can
enhance the quality of the data by offering constant codes and reports, flagging or even
fixing incorrect data.

Furthermore organization can incorporate data from numerous sources; facilitating a

vital perception throughout the organization. This advantage is always helpful, but
mainly so when the corporation has developed by unification. Data warehousing will
also help in customer intimacy by means of moderating the issue of database isolation
level fastens disagreement in transaction processing organisms caused by efforts to run
big, long running, examination queries in transaction processing databases. Data
warehousing will offer a single general data model for all data of interest irrespective of
the data's source.

Data Analytics

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According to Ader (200), data scientist is one of the most unique and reputed jobs in the
twenty first century. A data scientist is somebody who searches through huge amounts
of data for developing insights. However, merely searching for data is not required and
in this way the company will be moving in the wrong direction. Therefore, instead of
putting the responsibility of handling data to a few experts, it will be more effective to
spread these activities all through the company by means of easy to use tools and
methods. Furthermore, as big data necessitates a mixture of intuition and analytics thus
involving major decision makers and experienced managers of the corporation is
essential. As discussed above customer intimacy today is largely supported by big data.
However customer intimacy is largely depended on the IT process management inside
the organization that is used for handling customer relationships by means of
customized algorithms and software. IT processes inside the organization is actually a
mixture of different technologies. For instance Amazon uses a item to item filtering
process that helps in not just recommending products but also increases chances of
additional revenue. Therefore, it is required that the company acquires bid data
competencies or outsource it to a third party so that their IT process can be improved
for generating better customer intimacy.

8. Reflections and Conclusions

The present report has presented the importance of big data for the organization and
has put forwards the application of Big data for the organization in supporting its
customer intimacy strategy.

The report as found that while customer intimacy helps in building various independent
mutual relationships among the corporation and its customers, customer intimacy by
means of big data intelligence helps in deepening these relationships by providing
insights for better decision making.

With regards to big data intelligence the report has found that by means of big data
intelligence the company will be capable to handle huge amounts of unstructured data,
merging it with structured data and thus recognize existing business opportunities as
well as create new ones. Business intelligence will helps in easier understanding and
10
interpretation of data. If the company will be able to identify and create opportunities
then it will automatically provide company with competitive advantage and longer term
steadiness. Merely augmenting the IT processes by means of an intelligent algorithm is
not sufficient. Big data intelligence needs to be implemented in a cost effective manner
across the organization. Big data management facilitates in recognizing essential
information for the company. Moreover, Big Data is ahead of relational and conventional
databases. Corporation has to start by data collection that necessitates active customer
involvement like using services and providing feedback. Moreover, such types of data
are direct and barrier free.

The report states that customer intimacy not just means intimacy between the
customers and the organization but also amongst the customers. The company can
manage customers social networks and connections by means of social graph and thus
develop insights into customers desires and requirements m for instance facebooks
social graph, platforms and APIs can be used for this purpose.

The company can utilize some data stacks and techniques for big data management
such as Master data management, data warehousing ETL/ELT systems and data
analytics. This will help in reorganizing the data so that it gives exceptional query
performance, even for compound logical queries, without affecting the operational
structures.

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 Rittman, M. (2010). Introduction to Master Data Management. [online]. Available
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