If you have a bad social avatar, you are not employable – says Bigdata

The term “Big data” is still new and unheard in many organizations, but is rapidly creating eruptions all around the world. So before we begin this blog, for the benefit of the non technology savvy people – what is big data all about? It is an accumulated data set that is collected from both structured (as in traditional databases, tables etc) and unstructured (like the social media, videos, photos, emails etc) forms of data. The recent ability to harness these structured and unstructured data together has created a big vibe in the information industry. Open source technologies like Hadoop and R analytics have made it even more affordable and accessible for the new age organizations.

In this blog, I am not going to talk about the benefits of bigdata for the companies. A simple Google search on bigdata will provide you with millions of topics to read and sleep. I am going to unwind a field where bigdata is rapidly making in-roads and is definitely going to revolutionize the way we perceive social media.

• What if I say that bigdata is going to determine whether you are a suitable candidate for an academic seat in an institution?
• What if I say that bigdata is going to determine whether you are employable for an organization?
• What if I say that bigdata is going to determine whether you are good citizen or not?

Sounds unbelievable? It is the reality. Some US academic intuitions are exploring bigdata for admission processes. Companies like Google have already started analyzing bigdata for hiring better employees. Government organizations are looking into bigdata for collecting information on non-tax payers and defaulters.

We are going to see a radical shift in the way recruitment is going to happen in future. Resumes will very soon become an outdated process for recruitment. While companies are going to fight it out for the right candidate on a global level, gear yourself and be prepared for a roller coaster ride – a direct message from bigdata!

Is your business not a part of the Mobile Revolution? Seriously?

It amazes me to discover where we are today in mobile technology. The definition of mobile phone as per Wiki states “A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, and a hand phone) is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area.” Does this definition still hold true for the current period?

One of the first Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) phones by Bell systems used in 1946 weighed over 36kgs and composed of vacuum tubes and relays. The present day mobile phone hardly weighs 500gms and can be designed to fit even the smallest possible pocket size. Can this alone be called a mobile evolution? NO. The real evolution lies in the capability of the mobile phones to affect our daily life. They are no more seen as devices to just make calls. It is used for all our possible daily activities – from alarm in the morning to calculator, texting, camera, gaming, music, movies, internet, emails and what not. The decreasing average Voice revenue per user (ARPU) worldwide is testimony to the fact the mobile phones are no more seen as a device for telephone calls alone. Service providers now depend on value added services and mobile data for their revenues. Mobile phones became a companion which sleeps and walks with you always. No other device has that privilege.

The potential of the mobile has thrown wide opportunities for businesses. On the individual level, the easiness of Software and App development had produced more entrepreneurs than the world would have ever imagined. On commercial front, the advent of mobile internet also gave opportunity for the businesses to thrive by occupying the living space of its customers. Customers are constantly engaged and bombarded with alerts and information. Just as “Stay Connected!” became the catch word for mobile companies, “Going Mobile!” has now become the buzz word for all new age organizations.

In the Manufacturing space, mobile phone industry becomes a good example and a case study for any Management or Business Schools to understand forward and backward integration in businesses. It is one of the fields that has been and seen it all. Be it semiconductor vendors like Samsung, LG etc or software industries like Apple, Google etc or laptop manufactures like Lenovo, Dell etc – everyother company wants to compete in Mobile space leaving the specialized mobile manufacturing companies like Motorola and Nokia in lurch.

So where are you and your business in Mobile universe?

The Missing “2” in B2B / B2C Value Discovery

The era when you develop a product and expect to sell purely based on its features is gone forever. Any product you create, produce or innovate, you will soon find plenty of companies selling similar products in the market, sometimes with a price that might be very competitive to match as well. When companies don’t want to compete on price, there came the concept of Value discovery.

So what is this value all about and how do you discover it? A simple answer would be – value is what customer finds useful in your product or service, that can address his/her pain points and that can establish a business for you. Simple definition isn’t it? No, companies spend thousands of dollars to discover value for every product or service they do. In product oriented environment, the process is relatively simple as some of the values are fixed and finding the remaining variables are not often very tough. The services environment provides plenty of challenges as the variables are quite often infinite. Hence picking the right variables that create value for the customer becomes a paramount importance. The concept gets even more interesting when you look from the angle of B2C or B2B. Let us not argue here on which needs greater attention in value discovery. Instead we will find ways to make value discovery a simple and interesting process.

In my earlier post I talked about frameworks and how it helps business. Value discovery becomes simpler if we make it in a visual framework. Companies often believe understanding the pain points of the customer and creating a products or service around it will create value. True in a sense – but most companies often miss a critical element i.e. “consumer” or rather customer’s customer. There are 3 elements to discover value to any business.

The levels in 3C pyramid gives you steps to discover the value to any product or service. Understanding your company and the principles in which it operates forms the base to any value discovery. Then is the understanding of the pain points of the customer that your company serve and adapting the value proposition of your product or service to address those pain points. This is where most companies stop the process of value discovery, with the thought process that the cycle of B2(B/C) is complete. Most often in business the end customers/consumers are different from the customer you serve. There is a second and an important “2” to most business which is B2(B/C) + 2(B/C).

Toy industry is a classical example where the missing “2” is effectively employed in the business. The toys are produced to attract kids but marketed to parents – B2C2C. They make it attractive for kids but market to parents the advantage the toy brings to the growth of their kids and makes it easy to buy through use of different online and offline channels. Intel a semiconductor vendor for computer manufactures not just found value from its direct customer, instead went to public with the advertisements. The effect of the ads made consumers look for intel symbol in the computers to be assured of its quality. Intel discovered the value quality with the customer’s consumers and hence had a sustained success in the competitive industry (B2B2C).

So keep discovering value and remember not to miss the second “2” element in your discovery process.

Why do we need Frameworks for Businesses?

When you talk of frameworks in business arena, it is often seen as a complicated idea or an MBA jargon used by consultants to attract clients. But as a matter of fact, it has become an indispensable term in the industry. One of the biggest contributions by mathematics to business is geometry. Why do I say that? Geometry has helped us define boundaries. Be it a rectangle, a triangle, a circle and what not – all geometric shapes have definite boundaries. So what is its significance to business? Yes I am getting to that. Business runs in a very complex environment. The variables surrounding any business are numerous and are scattered all over. So unless you set a boundary, there is no chance for you to know and understand “what to consider” and “what not to”. It is like you are in an ocean without a compass or a satellite map. Framework gives you an edge by providing a structure to your business.

Framework etymologically is frame(n) + work(v). I will base my concept with the three basic geometric shapes (circle, rectangle & triangle) to make it simple and lucid. While a circle with the largest area among the shapes helps capturing as many variables as possible, a rectangle helps defining the axis and a triangle in setting a base and moving towards that one defining variable on the top. There are plenty other geometrical shapes that would help us to customize and define the variables for our business needs. So do the frameworks help in defining boundaries alone? The answer is a clear “NO”. In the fast changing business environment, continuous improvement is the key for the future. Framework works a tool to asses, modify and adapt to the new requirements of the ever-changing business environment. It gives you a sense of focus and a direction towards the road ahead. No wonder renowned consultants are obsessed with frameworks.