Capitalise on big data to add value to your small business Written by bestselling author and big data expert Bernard Marr, Big Data For Small Business For Dummies helps you understand what big data actually is—and how you can analyse and use it to improve your business. Free of confusing jargon and complemented with lots of step-by-step guidance and helpful advice, it quickly and painlessly helps you get the most from using big data in a small business. Business data has been around for a long time. Unfortunately, it was trapped away in overcrowded filing cabinets and on archaic floppy disks. Now, thanks to technology and new tools that display complex databases in a much simpler manner, small businesses can benefit from the big data that's been hiding right under their noses. With the help of this friendly guide, you'll discover how to get your hands on big data to develop new offerings, products and services; understand technological change; create an infrastructure; develop strategies; and make smarter business decisions. Shows you how to use big data to make sense of user activity on social networks and customer transactions Demonstrates how to capture, store, search, share, analyse and visualise analytics Helps you turn your data into actionable insights Explains how to use big data to your advantage in order to transform your small business If you're a small business owner or employee, Big Data For Small Business For Dummies helps you harness the hottest commodity on the market today in order to take your company to new heights.

If you’ve been charged with setting up storage area networks for your company, learning how SANs work and managing data storage problems might seem challenging. Storage Area Networks For Dummies, 2nd Edition comes to the rescue with just what you need to know. Whether you already a bit SAN savvy or you’re a complete novice, here’s the scoop on how SANs save money, how to implement new technologies like data de-duplication, iScsi, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet, how to develop SANs that will aid your company’s disaster recovery plan, and much more. For example, you can: Understand what SANs are, whether you need one, and what you need to build one Learn to use loops, switches, and fabric, and design your SAN for peak performance Create a disaster recovery plan with the appropriate guidelines, remote site, and data copy techniques Discover how to connect or extend SANs and how compression can reduce costs Compare tape and disk backups and network vs. SAN backup to choose the solution you need Find out how data de-duplication makes sense for backup, replication, and retention Follow great troubleshooting tips to help you find and fix a problem Benefit from a glossary of all those pesky acronyms From the basics for beginners to advanced features like snapshot copies, storage virtualization, and heading off problems before they happen, here’s what you need to do the job with confidence!

Find the right big data solution for your business or organization Big data management is one of the major challenges facing business, industry, and not-for-profit organizations. Data sets such as customer transactions for a mega-retailer, weather patterns monitored by meteorologists, or social network activity can quickly outpace the capacity of traditional data management tools. If you need to develop or manage big data solutions, you'll appreciate how these four experts define, explain, and guide you through this new and often confusing concept. You'll learn what it is, why it matters, and how to choose and implement solutions that work. Effectively managing big data is an issue of growing importance to businesses, not-for-profit organizations, government, and IT professionals Authors are experts in information management, big data, and a variety of solutions Explains big data in detail and discusses how to select and implement a solution, security concerns to consider, data storage and presentation issues, analytics, and much more Provides essential information in a no-nonsense, easy-to-understand style that is empowering Big Data For Dummies cuts through the confusion and helps you take charge of big data solutions for your organization.

The fast and easy way to make sense of statistics for big data Does the subject of data analysis make you dizzy? You've come to the right place! Statistics For Big Data For Dummies breaks this often-overwhelming subject down into easily digestible parts, offering new and aspiring data analysts the foundation they need to be successful in the field. Inside, you'll find an easy-to-follow introduction to exploratory data analysis, the lowdown on collecting, cleaning, and organizing data, everything you need to know about interpreting data using common software and programming languages, plain-English explanations of how to make sense of data in the real world, and much more. Data has never been easier to come by, and the tools students and professionals need to enter the world of big data are based on applied statistics. While the word "statistics" alone can evoke feelings of anxiety in even the most confident student or professional, it doesn't have to. Written in the familiar and friendly tone that has defined the For Dummies brand for more than twenty years, Statistics For Big Data For Dummies takes the intimidation out of the subject, offering clear explanations and tons of step-by-step instruction to help you make sense of data mining—without losing your cool. Helps you to identify valid, useful, and understandable patterns in data Provides guidance on extracting previously unknown information from large databases Shows you how to discover patterns available in big data Gives you access to the latest tools and techniques for working in big data If you're a student enrolled in a related Applied Statistics course or a professional looking to expand your skillset, Statistics For Big Data For Dummies gives you access to everything you need to succeed.

Want to start the small business of your dreams? Want to breathe new life into the one you already have? Small Business For Dummies, 3rd Edition provides authoritative guidance on every aspect of starting and growing your business, from financing and budgeting to marketing, management and beyond. This completely practical, no-nonsense guide gives you expert advice on everything from generating ideas and locating start-up money to hiring the right people, balancing the books, and planning for growth. You’ll get plenty of help in ramping up your management skills, developing a marketing strategy, keeping your customers loyal, and much more. You’ll also find out to use the latest technology to improve your business’s performance at every level. Discover how to: Make sure that small-business ownership is for you Find your niche and time your start-up Turn your ideas into plans Determine your start-up costs Obtain financing with the best possible terms Decide whether or not to incorporate Make sense of financial statements Navigate legal and tax issues Buy an existing business Set up a home-based business Publicize your business and market your wares Keep your customers coming back for more Track cash flow, costs and profits Keep your business in business and growing You have the energy, drive, passion, and smarts to make your small business a huge success. Small Business For Dummies, 3rd Edition, provides the rest.

Monetize your company’s data and data science expertise without spending a fortune on hiring independent strategy consultants to help What if there was one simple, clear process for ensuring that all your company’s data science projects achieve a high a return on investment? What if you could validate your ideas for future data science projects, and select the one idea that’s most prime for achieving profitability while also moving your company closer to its business vision? There is. Industry-acclaimed data science consultant, Lillian Pierson, shares her proprietary STAR Framework – A simple, proven process for leading profit-forming data science projects. Not sure what data science is yet? Don’t worry! Parts 1 and 2 of Data Science For Dummies will get all the bases covered for you. And if you’re already a data science expert? Then you really won’t want to miss the data science strategy and data monetization gems that are shared in Part 3 onward throughout this book. Data Science For Dummies demonstrates: The only process you’ll ever need to lead profitable data science projects Secret, reverse-engineered data monetization tactics that no one’s talking about The shocking truth about how simple natural language processing can be How to beat the crowd of data professionals by cultivating your own unique blend of data science expertise Whether you’re new to the data science field or already a decade in, you’re sure to learn something new and incredibly valuable from Data Science For Dummies. Discover how to generate massive business wins from your company’s data by picking up your copy today.

The best-selling author of Big Data is back, this time with a unique and in-depth insight into how specific companies use big data. Big data is on the tip of everyone's tongue. Everyone understands its power and importance, but many fail to grasp the actionable steps and resources required to utilise it effectively. This book fills the knowledge gap by showing how major companies are using big data every day, from an up-close, on-the-ground perspective. From technology, media and retail, to sport teams, government agencies and financial institutions, learn the actual strategies and processes being used to learn about customers, improve manufacturing, spur innovation, improve safety and so much more. Organised for easy dip-in navigation, each chapter follows the same structure to give you the information you need quickly. For each company profiled, learn what data was used, what problem it solved and the processes put it place to make it practical, as well as the technical details, challenges and lessons learned from each unique scenario. Learn how predictive analytics helps Amazon, Target, John Deere and Apple understand their customers Discover how big data is behind the success of Walmart, LinkedIn, Microsoft and more Learn how big data is changing medicine, law enforcement, hospitality, fashion, science and banking Develop your own big data strategy by accessing additional reading materials at the end of each chapter

Harness the power of marketing and watch your business grow Having your own business isn't the same as having customers, and one is useless without the other. Whether your business is a resale store or a high-tech consulting firm, a law office or a home cleaning service, in today's competitive environment, strategic marketing is essential. If you want your small business to grow, you need a marketing strategy that works. But how do you get people to notice your business without spending a fortune? Packed with savvy tips for low-cost, high-impact campaigns, this friendly guide is your road map to launching a great marketing campaign and taking advantage of the newest technologies and avenues for outreach. Using social media as a marketing tool Communicating with customers Financing a marketing campaign The companion CD includes tools and templates to give you a jump-start on putting your new skills to work If you're looking to give your small business' marketing plan an edge over the competition, Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies has you covered. CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.

All the answers to your data science questions Over half of all businesses are using data science to generate insights and value from big data. How are they doing it? Data Science Strategy For Dummies answers all your questions about how to build a data science capability from scratch, starting with the “what” and the “why” of data science and covering what it takes to lead and nurture a top-notch team of data scientists. With this book, you’ll learn how to incorporate data science as a strategic function into any business, large or small. Find solutions to your real-life challenges as you uncover the stories and value hidden within data. Learn exactly what data science is and why it’s important Adopt a data-driven mindset as the foundation to success Understand the processes and common roadblocks behind data science Keep your data science program focused on generating business value Nurture a top-quality data science team In non-technical language, Data Science Strategy For Dummies outlines new perspectives and strategies to effectively lead analytics and data science functions to create real value.

You're intelligent, right? So you've already figured out that Business Intelligence can be pretty valuable in making the right decisions about your business. But you’ve heard at least a dozen definitions of what it is, and heard of at least that many BI tools. Where do you start? Business Intelligence For Dummies makes BI understandable! It takes you step by step through the technologies and the alphabet soup, so you can choose the right technology and implement a successful BI environment. You'll see how the applications and technologies work together to access, analyze, and present data that you can use to make better decisions about your products, customers, competitors, and more. You’ll find out how to: Understand the principles and practical elements of BI Determine what your business needs Compare different approaches to BI Build a solid BI architecture and roadmap Design, develop, and deploy your BI plan Relate BI to data warehousing, ERP, CRM, and e-commerce Analyze emerging trends and developing BI tools to see what else may be useful Whether you’re the business owner or the person charged with developing and implementing a BI strategy, checking out Business Intelligence For Dummies is a good business decision.