Big Data? Big Problems! Everyone’s Talking about Big Data Analytics, but Nobody Acknowledges the Elephant in the Room: Skilled Knowledge Workers Are in Short Supply

Today Customer Relationship Metrics, L.C. released the findings of a study indicating usage of the term “big data” has exploded online. The study was conducted by analysts at Customer Relationship Metrics using Nielsen McKinsey’s NM Incite technology, which collects user-generated content from over 180 million sites worldwide, including blogs, message boards, usenet groups, Twitter, Facebook and Video/Image sites (e.g., Youtube, Flickr).

Virtually unheard of at the beginning of 2010, big data has quickly become one of the hottest buzzwords in IT circles. In the past three months, big data was the topic of discussion over 20,000 times per month in the press, blogs, and social networks, as measured by NM Incite. See accompanying chart.

Big Data? Big Problems!

But here’s the rub: even world-class enterprises are struggling with getting real value from big data, solely because knowledgeable workers are in short supply: those with the skills necessary to analyze and understand what the data is saying; translate the data into real business action that drives bottom-line results; and communicate recommendations to senior executives.

Dr. Jodie Monger, founder and president of Customer Relationship Metrics, said, “Right now, big data is nothing more than a buzzword. Everyone in IT knows that the enterprise cannot afford to overlook the massive data sets they create. They know that these data sets contain a plethora of information that can help them better serve their customers. But nobody knows how to actually reach this Holy Grail.”

Dr. Monger continued, “Ironically, use of the term big data grew significantly in mid-2011 when McKinsey & Co. issued its seminal research report Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. The report warned of a growing shortage of talent to leverage big data and make decisions based on data trends.”

Big Problems? Big Solution!

So enterprises are caught in a jam: they need to analyze and act on data trends, but don’t have people who can do the job. Increasingly, these enterprises are outsourcing the job to Customer Relationship Metrics.

Dr. Monger continued, “Customer Relationship Metrics serves many of the most recognizable consumer brands on the planet. We help these companies dig deep into their data, spotting trends that emerge from daily interactions with customers through call centers, email dialogues, chat functions, and social media interactions.”

By focusing on data embedded within real customer interactions, companies can easily identify those service issues which lead to the most customer dissatisfaction. Once these problems are fixed, reputation grows and customer satisfaction increases organically.

Dr. Monger added, “Analyzing big data can be overwhelming. But we make it simple for customers by pointing our solutions at the most meaningful data sets that can deliver the most significant customer service results in the quickest timeframe possible. We eliminate blind alleys and avoid time and resource vampires, while making big data solutions easy to implement.”

Big Data as a Managed Service

Customer Relationship Metrics is a SaaS-based end-to-end big data solution. It includes data integration, software, and analytics that can be up and running within 60 days.

Dr. Monger concluded, “Deployment is where big-data-based BI solutions break down most frequently. Custom solutions and complex software development timelines mean delays, cost overruns, and intense frustration across the chain of command. By structuring our solution as a managed service, we deliver real value from big data and business intelligence in an abbreviated timeframe, with no significant capital costs. That’s a win/win for all involved."

For more information on Customer Relationship Metrics’ business intelligence solutions, please contact Jim Rembach at 336-288-8226.

ABOUT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP METRICS, L.C.

Customer Relationship Metrics, L.C., headquartered in Sterling, Virginia, is a provider of managed call center analytics and advisory services. Customer Relationship Metrics' business intelligence solutions are focused on delivering full turnkey Customer Experience Analytics, Speech Analytics and Operational Analytics programs that transform unstructured data into actionable business insights. Customer Relationship Metrics uses SaaS data collection and reporting tools combined with subject matter expertise to significantly lower the in-house total cost of ownership and skilled personnel gap. Founded in 1993, its CEO, Dr. Jodie Monger, invented post-call surveying with the award-winning External Quality Monitoring Program (EQM™) and its proprietary Survey Calibration Process that transcribes customer comments and uses them for analysis and dispositioning data as needed. She was the founding Associate Director of Purdue University's Center for Customer-Driven Quality. For more information, visit their award-winning blog at http://www.metrics.net/blog, or their website at http://www.metrics.net.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50140781&lang=en