Big Data. Marr Bernard

      ‘While Bernard is clearly ahead of the pack on Big Data, the brilliance of his book is in its timing. Just when we were starting to feel let down by the over-hyped promise, he brings Big Data into sharp focus and spells out his tried and trusted (“SMART”) approach to help us tackle the greatest opportunity (or threat) of our generation. No more excuses!’

Richard Phillips, Director of Analytics, Barclaycard

      `What a thought-provoking and enjoyable read! The powerful, yet simple, SMART model will allow anyone to take advantage of Big Data in so many different ways, from improving profitability and customer retention to winning sports games! Each chapter will trigger fresh ideas and identify new opportunities to better leverage data in your company.'

Marcus Barlow, Operations Director at American Express

      `Data and analytics power everything that we do. This book is the go-to-guide on data for 2015. A brilliant piece of work!'

Henrik von Scheel, Advisory Board Member at Google, EMEA and Gazprom, CEO of LEADing Practice

      `Bernard Marr is a master at synthesizing a complex set of topics into salient points that practitioners need to know. In his newest book, Bernard has boiled down the Big Data ocean into a simple and practical SMART methodology that will help organizations extract real value from a dizzying array of data, tools, and technologies.'

Wayne Eckerson, Principal Consultant, Eckerson Group

      `Bernard Marr has done it again – taken a complex subject and broken it down into simple pieces so that business leaders can devise practical strategies for exploiting the opportunities presented by Big Data. This book is a must-read for anyone trying to understand and leverage Big Data.'

Dave Kellogg, CEO, HostAnalyitcs

      `This is a SMART book by a SMART author. Bernard Marr goes beyond the hype of Big Data, providing real-life case studies and action points for the manager looking for the competitive edge.'

Lars Rinnan, CEO, Nextbridge

      `This book will help you unravel the mystery of Big Data. It simply lifts any confusion caused by buzzwords and technical terms that are thrown about when people talk about Big Data. The book provides many examples of organizations making sense of a variety of data to achieve real business impact. The book's ``SMART'' approach will help you avoid the common and expensive mistake of gathering a mountain of data with no notion of what to do with it.'

Robert Stackowiak, Vice President of Information Architecture and Big Data, Oracle

      `Being smart, Bernard Marr has created an enjoyable book that describes the world of Big Data and analytics and how this will completely change our business world.'

Professor Kai Mertins, President, Interop VLab

      `Is Big Data a buzzword or does it have practical applications in business? Bernard Marr goes beyond the hype of Big Data to provide business people with a smart solution to understand where we are, where we are trying to get to and what data and tools we can employ to help us get there.'

Roberto Croci, Manager, Google Analytics (SEEMEA)

      `I would recommend this book to anyone looking to put an efficient data-driven strategy in place. The SMART methodology is a simple way of bringing together the key concepts of an analytics strategy.'

Benjamin Mercier, Vice President, Senior Digital Analytics Manager at Barclays

      `Bernard Marr's Big Data provides a lucid, practical guide for managers seeking to leverage the explosion in data and data analysis for productivity. In a convincing fashion, Marr moves beyond traditional understandings of the emergence of Big Data in business practices as a technical issue and construes it as a managerial issue rooted in both leadership and strategy. The message is that data is meaningless without the ability to understand it or to communicate what that understanding is.'

Robert M. Mauro, PhD, Director and Founder, Global Leadership Institute, Boston College

      `In a world where 90 % of all data has been created in the last two years, Big Data and analytics offer massive opportunities for consumers, corporates and governments. Bernard's book Big Data should be essential reading for any manager because it provides you with a pragmatic guide to realizing the real value of the fourth production factor: data! It is a very practical book that will take you beyond the hype of Big Data. Using Bernard's SMART model on data analytics will help you dramatically improve performance through data-driven decision making!'

Berry Diepeveen, Partner, Enterprise Intelligence & Analytics, Ernst & Young

      `This is a practical, insightful, no-nonsense book on Big Data that will provide a 360-degree view of how Big Data impacts our life and business. Bernard is an awesome simplifier and thought leader who presents the complex subject of Big Data in a way that everyone can understand.'

Nandhini Sampath, Sr. Manager of Business Transformation & Analytics, Cisco Systems

      `Bernard leverages his years of experience to provide a practical roadmap for quickly realizing real returns on your Big Data journey.'

Kurt J. Bilafer, Vice President, ClearStory Data

      `You can cut through the hype associated with the latest management fad, which is Big Data, with the help of Bernard Marr who reminds us that ``the real value is not in the large volumes of data but what we can now do with it''. And ``The reality is that most businesses are already data rich, but insight poor''. The recommendation is, focus on the SMART Data, not the Big Data. In doing so, regardless of size or budget, you can harness the advantages and become a SMART Business.'

Paul Barnett, Founder & CEO, Strategic Management Forum

      `In the midst of an unstructured world of novel possibilities, I finally found a consistent framework that will help make Big Data a reality in our business strategy execution. It's not about technology, but how to transform our business to cope with the new century of opportunities.'

Pedro Pereira, Head of SAP Big Data, SAP

      `Unlike so many other books about Big Data, this one is focused on the business value of Big Data. This practical book provides a step-by-step approach and countless real-world examples of how to turn data into smart insights that can transform not only businesses but also the ways we deal with social, political and health issues. Bernard has written a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand the data and analytics revolution.'

Lucile Hyon-Le Gourrièrec, Big Data & Analytics Marketing Leader, IBM France

      `Many boards and executives across the public and private sector stuck their heads in the sand when it came to IT – at great shareholder and taxpayer cost. Don't make the same mistake again with Big Data! There is no doubt that Big Data and analytics, driven by technology and business model innovation, is profoundly reshaping and disrupting industries, economies and society at an unprecedented rate. Bernard Marr provides a thought provoking and gripping insight into the power of Big Data at the heart of this smart revolution. Big Data is compelling reading.'

Marie Johnson, Chief Digital Officer, Centre for Digital Business and formerly Microsoft's Worldwide Director of Public Services and eGovernment

      BIG DATA

      USING SMART BIG DATA, ANALYTICS AND METRICS TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

      BERNARD MARR

      This edition first published 2015

      © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

      Registered office

      John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom

      For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,