Finding Opportunity in the Challenges of Big Data

August 16, 2012 Chad Bolender Leave a Comment

A feature article by Moreover’s Senior Product Manager, Brian Mackie, appears in the latest issue of IntranetsToday explaining how companies can find and exploit opportunities within the challenges of Big Data.

His article, “Actionable Media Intelligence: Delivering a Competitive Edge”, argues that companies should be using the proper tools to turn unwieldy “mass media” into actionable “meaningful media”.

Great companies make decisions driven by data, not by gut feelings alone. The problem is that available “big data” is increasing very quickly. How does an organization make sense of it all and get it to the relevant people?

Employees are going to talk- to each other and to people outside the company. Are they informed? They should be reading targeted and relevant news every day without spending too much time seeking it out.  Do you know how to get them there?

In the feature, Mr. Mackie gives a checklist of points to consider while evaluating tools for internal communication to solve these problems.

• What media sources does the service cover, does it match your particular industry needs, and can new ones be added on request?
• Check the news filtering options to make sure they will support the precisely tuned results you need (test with real-life news requirements)
• Look for flexible media distribution options: A user portal, newsletters, RSS feeds, possibly an API to integrate news search directly into an intranet
• Ensure it includes editorial control features to manage the content that flows out to the organization (e.g. the ability to quickly remove articles from an RSS feed on the intranet)
• Confirm whether customer service includes editorial support for building out searches
• Ask about their software development processes and how often they roll out new features (ideally at least monthly)
• Know the pricing – avoid ballooning content licensing costs, and beware the sweet entry level deal that is followed by a sudden not-quite-explained price hike in year two!
• Lastly, always run a trial and push the vendor to prove, not just promise, targeted business news that demonstrates value. If they can’t provide this during a trial, it’s probably because they can’t provide it full stop.

Companies can leverage their internal communication to gain an advantage in the marketplace. It is difficult, but there is opportunity in this challenge to rise above the competition:

Turning mass media it into meaningful media intelligence is a fascinating challenge – it is for vendors, publishers, and especially for the companies chasing productivity gains and competitive advantage. And therein lies the good business news: It is not too late to be an early mover and gain that edge.

Read the whole article here while it’s still free!

Filed under: corporate communications,enterprise news sharing,enterprise products,internal communications,market intelligence,media analysis,media intelligence,media monitoring,Newsdesk

Tags: big data