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
Introduction 1
1 Walmart: How Big Data is Used to Drive Supermarket Performance 5
2 CERN: Unravelling the Secrets of the Universe With Big Data 11
3 Netflix: How Netflix Used Big Data to Give Us the Programmes We Want 17
4 Rolls-Royce: How Big Data is Used to Drive Success in Manufacturing 25
5 Shell: How Big Oil Uses Big Data 31
6 Apixio: How Big Data is Transforming Healthcare 37
7 Lotus F1 Team: How Big Data is Essential to the Success of Motorsport Teams 45
8 Pendleton & Son Butchers: Big Data For Small Business 51
9 US Olympic Women's Cycling Team: How Big Data Analytics is Used to Optimize Athletes' Performance 57
10 ZSL: Big Data in the Zoo and to Protect Animals 63
11 Facebook: How Facebook Use Big Data to Understand Customers 69
12 John Deere: How Big Data Can Be Applied On Farms 75
13 Royal Bank of Scotland: Using Big Data to Make Customer Service More Personal 81
14 LinkedIn: How Big Data is Used to Fuel Social Media Success 87
15 Microsoft: Bringing Big Data to the Masses 95
16 Acxiom: Fuelling Marketing With Big Data 103
17 US Immigration and Customs: How Big Data is Used to Keep Passengers Safe and Prevent Terrorism 111
18 Nest: Bringing the Internet of Things Into the Home 117
19 GE: How Big Data is Fuelling the Industrial Internet 125
20 Etsy: How Big Data is Used in a Crafty Way 131
21 Narrative Science: How Big Data is Used to Tell Stories 137
22 BBC: How Big Data is Used in the Media 143
23 Milton Keynes: How Big Data is Used to Create Smarter Cities 149
24 Palantir: How Big Data is Used to Help the CIA and to Detect Bombs in Afghanistan 157
25 Airbnb: How Big Data is Used to Disrupt the Hospitality Industry 163
26 Sprint: Profiling Audiences Using Mobile Network Data 169
27 Dickey's Barbecue Pit: How Big Data is Used to Gain Performance Insights Into One of America's Most Successful Restaurant Chains 175
28 Caesars: Big Data at the Casino 181
29 Fitbit: Big Data in the Personal Fitness Arena 189
30 Ralph Lauren: Big Data in the Fashion Industry 195
31 Zynga: Big Data in the Gaming Industry 199
32 Autodesk: How Big Data is Transforming the Software Industry 205
33 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts: How Big Data is Transforming Our Family Holidays 211
34 Experian: Using Big Data to Make Lending Decisions and to Crack Down On Identity Fraud 217
35 Transport for London: How Big Data is Used to Improve and Manage Public Transport in London 223
36 The US Government: Using Big Data to Run a Country 229
37 IBM Watson: Teaching Computers to Understand and Learn 237
38 Google: How Big Data is at the Heart of Google's Business Model 243
39 Terra Seismic: Using Big Data to Predict Earthquakes 251
40 Apple: How Big Data is at the Centre of Their Business 255
41 Twitter: How Twitter and IBM Deliver Customer Insights From Big Data 261
42 Uber: How Big Data is at the Centre of Uber's Transportation Business 267
43 Electronic Arts: Big Data in Video Gaming 273
44 Kaggle: Crowdsourcing Your Data Scientist 281
45 Amazon: How Predictive Analytics Are Used to Get a 360-Degree View of Consumers 287
Final Thoughts 293
About the Author 297
Acknowledgements 299
Index 301
