Innovative Big Data Solutions for the Enterprise Will Increase the Productivity Gains Already Attributed to Data

Politics, sports, advertising, and medicine--all of these fields are being transformed not by the invisible hand, but rather the invisible mouse of big data. The New York Times discusses this paradigm shift in the article, "The Age of Big Data." 

With such a transformation, there is a great need for workers with what the McKinsey Global Institute calls "deep analytical" expertise and according to their report last year the U.S. will need 140-190,000 of these employable individuals. 1.5 million more data-literate managers will be needed as well. 

We might be more skeptical of such an immediate high demand of people educated in the school of data analysis if the New York Times did not provide us with this information:

Research by Professor Brynjolfsson and two other colleagues, published last year, suggests that data-guided management is spreading across corporate America and starting to pay off. They studied 179 large companies and found that those adopting “data-driven decision making” achieved productivity gains that were 5 percent to 6 percent higher than other factors could explain.

While 5-6 percent gains may seem miniscule in relation to some of the hype about big data, we must realize those numbers will grow as both the number of deep analytical experts grow in addition to the quality of big data solutions for the enterprise.

Megan Feil, February 13, 2012

AppFog Understands Importance of User Experience; Adds Third-Party Service Providers

For those who love open source coding and sophisticated programming language but cannot stand configuring servers and load balancers, there is AppFog. Helping developers to deploy and scale web-based applications through a sole point of access is the mission of AppFog. Their recent news release, "AppFog Enhances User Experience with Additional Add-On Partners Blitz.io and Iron.io," discusses the addition of their latest third-party service providers, Blitz.io and Iron.io, to their Platform-as-a-service ecosystem.

The add-on program has reportedly been a success with users. The news release said the following:

The intuitive interface displays partners’ services allowing the customer to easily integrate additional functionality into the applications they build on the AppFog platform. This is AppFog’s third installment to the program; the company plans to continue expanding its partner ecosystem adding new tools and solutions to the program throughout the year.

Removing complexity for the end user is of great importance in today's technology market. We even see AppFog make great strides in this area in terms of explaining their services with a concise and easy-to-follow video on their introductory home page. Their focus on the user experience will take them far.

Megan Feil, February 13, 2012

Web Spiders Offers Comprehensive List of Mobility Service; Delivers Partial Solutions

We didn't find ourselves getting caught in the threads spun by Web Spiders, but we did peruse their website for a while learning more about them. Their tagline, "Rich Mobile and Web Engineering" in addition to their website's content shows that they have taken the comprehensive approach in their emerging industry of mobile development. Offer not one mobile service, but as many as possible. 

Let's take a look at one of their case studies. The PIC Intranet Patient Referrals System needed an upgrade in terms of search, intuitive interface, CMS, and data updating. According to the website, they took the following course of action:

The development team spent time interacting with the customer and Web Spiders Partners to get the correct logic in place. Web Spiders completed all requirements as per specification provided. The search, listing features, protection of confidential information of patients, and tracking of occupancy rates were some of the new features added to the intranet.

This case study was listed under "Enterprise Applications." We find it interesting that even with their comprehensive capabilities they did not mention any integration of the infrastructure with mobility. Enterprise mobility is especially transformative in the medical industry right now--companies requiring innovative rehauls of their current technology should consult companies with the combined power of enterprise infrastructure and mobility.

Megan Feil, February 13, 2012

Edmunds' App Helps Addresses Consumers' Needs with Efficient Design and High-Need Purpose

We love seeing apps designed with the user in mind in terms of both interface and purpose. Buying a car is a stressful experience when the customer does not have all the research available on them when at a dealership. Market Watch from the Wall Street Journal reports an app to change that circumstance in their article "Edmunds.com Takes Next Step in Mobile Car Shopping with New iPad App."

Consumers will benefit from this app for free, thanks to an exclusive sponsorship deal with Lexus. It is available on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

Vice President of Mobile Technology at Edmunds.com Stephen Gandee spoke to the design and functionality:

We leveraged iPad's large high resolution display and Multi-Touch interface to create a feature that helps users learn about the latest advances in automotive technology and assists them to determine which models include them as options. In-car technology is rapidly gaining in importance to consumers as they decide on competing models, since they now rely on the integration of their mobile devices in their vehicles.

This is one app that is sure to take off with speed in the consumer market as it addresses a highly relevant need. We plan to keep our eyes on other companies offering apps and support for an intuitive user experience, which may end up in design and deployment, but it always starts with filling an unmet need.

Megan Feil, February 13, 2012

Forcing an Information Diet on Employees Rather than Looking for Search and Data Management Solution Will Not Increase ROI

Decision fatigue plagues many people on a personal and a professional level due to the large amount of information, and consequent choices we have. One of the most important choices is how to spend our time. "Information Overload or Overconsumption?" offers some advice on the subject in regards to Blue State Digital Co-Founder Clay Johnson's new book, The Information Diet.

The article tells us that we should not blame our information management systems. We need to reflect on our own choices:

From this point of view, it’s not about managing the information – it’s about managing our consumption of it. Since the book’s release, a number of experts have hopped on the same thought train, including Tim O’reilly of O'Reilly media, who says, “Time is a precious resource. You don't get it back. Thinking through what you want to produce as well as what you want to consume, and how much time you'll allocate to each activity, is a good start.”

The article did not cover the fact that information system users waste 25% of their time searching for information using multiple applications. They spend several hours each week recreating information they already have but cannot locate, according to IDC.

If all information were stored in employees' minds then we could see a case for the article's arguement. However, we rely on computers to store our data and allow us to retrieve it in the most efficient way possible. Why wouldn't we spend a fraction of our time finding the right information management and search tool to offer us the most ROI?

We reccommend looking at more traditional vendors such as Oracle and IBM, but do not forget about smaller companies such as PolySpot. 

Megan Feil, February 10, 2012