SigmaWay Blog

Ever wondered if machine learning can be used for Data Driven Marketing. The Intelligent Agent (IA) developed on the concept of machine learning takes a big leap in data driven marketing.  IA technology can learn about the user behavior and suggest most suitable actions. It can identify the most relevant data from the whole lot and can even find out the reasons for the importance or relevance of that data. Artificial Intelligence is revolutionalising the field of marketing. Intelligent Agent would reduce the manual processing and will produce better results. Read more about it in the article written by John Bates(Senior Product Manager for Data Science & Predictive Marketing Solutions) at: http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/analytics/data-driven-marketing-ready-for-machine-learning/

No, remote access should not mean less control. It admins need to examine the problem as quickly as possible but conflicting to user expectations, it's not possible always. Remote access tools are the solution to these problems. Tools like GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, TeamViewer are the quite popular which provides remote access, control and support. But apart from this, remote IT administration is also needed i.e., capability to diagnose the system even before connecting to the server. Microsoft provides such ‘manual’ remote control tools. Goverlan is also one such tool which provides remote troubleshooting. Read more here: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3021938/systems-management/it-admins-remote-doesnt-have-to-mean-less-control.html

A lot is investment is made in the digital marketing campaign. Before planning the campaigns, it is important to correctly determine whether to use Rule Based or Algorithmic Attribution. First, we have to analyze the data in hand properly. If the data is coming from different platforms and needs to be combined or analyzed at one platform, then Rule Based Attribution can't be even thought of, go for the latter. Rule Based Attribution uses the last touch as the final touch, so sometimes it can be misleading. If the journey to the destination has been maneuvered by the smart moves at each step, then we can't rely on the Rule- Based approach. But if the algorithmic approach was that easy, everyone could have adopted it. Read more about the pros and cons of each in the article written by Matt Scharf (Senior Manager at Display Media Operations & Analytics at Adobe Systems) at: http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/analytics/rules-based-vs-algorithmic-attribution/

Cloud is the new buzz word. Nowadays, more and more people are willing to shift to the cloud. There are too many paths available for this journey and each path which does appear to be good, might not result in a successful decision. So people need to consider more details than they actually thought. The first step is to categorize types of workload that one wishes to migrate. These are not the applications, but the patterns of processing the applications. Some of the patterns may be - Database-intensive; Compute intensive or; User interface- intensive. If you have, say 200 applications, then, place each application in one of these categories and you will end up dealing with 3 categories rather than 200 applications. Doing so, you will be able to select proper cloud configuration to service your applications. This approach will help you in saving time and money. Read more at: http://www.infoworld.com/article/3016559/cloud-computing/the-right-way-to-migrate-to-the-cloud.html

The fast growing field of "wearables" has brought in one amazing technology. This is being called as "disappearables". The logic behind this is to make technology modest. The wearables should capture energy from the surroundings, sense and observe the environment around. But the challenge for the wearables manufacturing companies is to produce cost efficient products. These should not be restricting the body movements or shall not have the consistent charging issues. This new technology is called disappearables because the user itself can't tell whether he is wearing the smart wear or not. Read more about this amazing technology in the article written by Ben O'Brien (Contributor) at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254301

Hadoop and Apache Spark are seen as the competitors in the world of big data, but now the growing consensus is that they are better convention in together. Here is a brief look at what they do and how they are compared.  1. They do different things: Both are the big-data frameworks, but they do not serve the same purposes. Hadoop is a distributed data infrastructure. It also Indexes and keep track of that data, enabling big-data processing and analytics. On the other hand, Spark is a data processing tool. Secondly, both can be used individually, without the other. 3. Spark is faster 4. You may not need Spark's speed: Spark is fit for real-time marketing campaigns, online product recommendations, cybersecurity analytics and machine log monitoring. 5. Failure recovery: differently, but still good. Read more at: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3014516/big-data/5-things-to-know-about-hadoop-v-apache-spark.html

The purchasing decisions taken by the customers are more often the result of online reviews and various comparisons. After buying products they themselves become reviewers and express their views on web about the product. This significantly impacts the reputation of the product and hence the company. This expands marketing horizons, thus its measure can't be only limited to ROI (Return on Investment). Work of marketers is not limited to being just creative. It is important for them to be contributing employees to the organization. Testing of the marketing strategy should be done. All the influencing factors should be kept in mind. The marketing team should be aware of when to measure. Read more at: http://bloomreach.com/2016/01/measuring-marketing-roi/

Before you approach a marketing automation vendor, there is always some necessary groundwork to do. This is not only important to prevent making fool out of yourself, but also to get best out of the vendor. A vendor can only provide what you want, if you have 100% clarity of it. It is important to highlight your needs. Add-ons are always good if they make your work better. Keep the strengths and drawbacks of your old system in mind. A clear goal must be decided before starting the automation. Read more about it in the article written by James A. Martin (tech journalist and bloggerz) at: http://www.cio.com/article/3023570/marketing/12-questions-to-ask-marketing-automation-vendors-before-you-buy.html

There is a prediction that by 2017, 33% of Fortune 100 companies will experience information crises due to lack of adequate testing measures. To prevent this, the robust testing approach must be used. Developing a well-planned data warehousing, testing process will help in minimizing such risks. And while moving to agile, we can do more testing in comparison to traditional projects. The testing being done during development in parallel aids to agile development, because development and testing can be completed in a single sprint. The roadmap for building agile data warehouse will consist of following steps-

·         Build business conceptual model

·         Grass roots Data governance

·         High-level architecture with repeatable design patterns

·         Strong testing tools

·         Robust data quality program

·          Self-managing teams.

Read the full article here http://www.cio.com/article/3012097/data-warehousing/take-testing-seriously.html

E-Commerce firms very well understand that data is a wealth. The data can provide very crucial and meaningful insights, if used properly. Data Mining is one such way. It is a field of computer science that discovers the patterns in large data sets. This is done using the methods of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Statistics and Database Systems. Algorithms are made to act on the data set. This often reveals "game changing" results for the industry. Data Mining can be either done manually or can be automated. E-Commerce Firms use this to get to know more about customer's emotions, preferences, and other factors that impact their purchasing style. So they excel in offering a personalized experience through this. It doesn't stay limited to customers. Data Mining is done to keep an eye on the competitors. Read more about it in the article written by Arie Shpanya (contributor to Econsultancy)  at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/67360-why-data-mining-is-the-future-of-online-retailing/

Before we start discussing about Tools for Social Media Analysis, first of all we have to know what social media analytics is? Instead of thinking it as a noun, take it as a verb. Precisely, it's gathering data from social platforms to help guide marketing strategy.

# the process begins with the prioritizing goals.

# The second step is determining key performance indicators (KPIs) i.e. likes and shares your posts receives, replies and comments, and more importantly the clicks your links and content earn analysis.

Now, as the definition is clear, we will directly come to the social media analytic tools. To read more, follow: https://keyhole.co/blog/list-of-the-top-25-social-media-analytics-tools/

It's no more difficult to shop at a new place with Location Based Marketing. We often look for the unique and best products, when we visit a new place. A common practice is to inquire about the best deals, with the people around who are aware of the new place. But with everything becoming techy we have Location Based Marketing to rescue. It integrates mobile marketing with location based services. The motive behind this is to make mobile users aware of your presence, while they are in the areas nearby. Most relevant display ads as per user's location are sent. Their interest can be pulled by either providing some discounts or some other perks. This benefit both the user as well as the business. Read more about it in an article written by Jack Simpson (a Writer at Econsultancy) at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/67418-what-is-location-based-advertising-why-is-it-the-next-big-thing/

We all have heard Time is money. Speed is one of the most important factors which determines cost in IT industry. So here are the five actions which will increase speed and productivity and will result in great potential success.

1. Integrated service play.

2. Establish a new strategic intent driven by business rather than function.

3. Reorganize the computer structure by making cross functional teams that work across different disciplines.

4. Invest in the appropriate and technologies.

5. Consider options for renting with technologies like cloud. Read the full article here: http://www.cio.com/article/3022757/it-strategy/5-moves-to-make-your-it-group-more-responsive-to-business-demands.html

Finding suitable talent for your workplace is a difficult process. It is much more difficult to retain talent, if the workplace conditions are not suitable. Most of the organizations use annual feedback system to know about the employees. But the better way is to have a continuous check on the performance and behavior of employees. This helps in getting a better picture. Big Data helps in identifying the relation between engagement and retention. Cloud based solutions provide access to all the data at one place and this can be used for further decisions by HR. Data can be collected, measured, analysed at one place. And accordingly solutions can be thought of to eliminate the problem. Organizations who use big data solutions have observed a better turnover. Read more at: http://www.cio.com/article/3023311/careers-staffing/how-big-data-can-drive-employee-engagement.html

A research was done in 2015 where purchase decisions of 20,000 European citizens, across 30 product areas and more than 100 brands in the year 2013 and 201 were examined. They were asked how social media influenced their purchasing decisions.  It was observed that social media recommendations induced an average of 26% of sales. It was found that consumers made 10% more purchases on 2014 in comparison to 2013. Moreover, the choice of product also played a vital role. For example, 40 to 50% of consumers look for social recommendations for categories like travel, investment services, etc., whereas only 15% recommendations were looking for low end utility services. So we can see that Social media does play a vital role in brand awareness and hence end up converting to the sales. Read the full article here: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/getting_a_sharper_picture_of_social_medias_influence

We've been thinking about the Internet of Things all wrong. According to various predictions by various companies, there were various statements specifying volume and amount of money, number of connections. These are just numbers, Numbers, more numbers. If we believe in the predictions, there is no way that current analytical solutions can manage that level of information. In the immediate future artificial intelligence capabilities are required. Which means all companies who have an analytics platform play will have to invest in A.I. research, acquire and finally emerge with solutions based on methods beyond machine learning. Or risk being left behind. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it's because right now all efforts are pointing towards machine learning and algorithms as the goal for analytics. To read more visit on: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theopriestley/2015/12/08/a-series-of-unfortunate-tech-predictions-artificial-intelligence-and-iot-are-inseparable/#39f25ec8523a1253d985523a

The trend of wearables is growing hotter each day. BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) and IoT (Internet of Things) clubbed together, is adding more efficiency and flexibility. It's no surprise that smart wearables are already passé for fashionistas. On the counterpart, these trends are attracting the attention of hackers. Wearables are being profoundly used for both business and personal purposes. Thus making them a rich source of information. This could act to the disadvantage if the information gets into the wrong hands. Though the wearables have not revealed any big disadvantages, so far. But as always, with evolving technologies, there always exist weak points. The hackers find these weaknesses and exploit it to their benefit. So it is essential to do proper research on the wearable, before handling it a prominent portion of your information. Read more about it in an article written by Jen A. Miller (a freelance journalist) at: http://www.cio.com/article/3022059/wearable-technology/how-secure-are-wearables-anyway.html

In today's world Data Scientist is the most- desired workers in IT industries. Since the demand for such skills is high, this has become a desired job for the potential candidates as well. So here are some skills which will increase your chances of hiring, if you want to become a Data scientist - SQL, Hadoop, Python, Java, and R. Not only these, but MapReduce, Hive and Pig skills which will increase your desirability as a data scientist. So, gear yourself up and start working and learning these skills to become a data scientist. Read more at: https://adtmag.com/articles/2016/01/08/data-science-skills.aspx

The Internet of Things (IoT) is impacting on consumers’ lives and corporate business models. It is increasing at the rapid rate and by 2020, more than half of the major new process will incorporate some element of the IoT. IoT is basically connecting device with an on and off switch to the internet. By 2020, a black market exceeding $5 billion would exist to sell fake sensor and video data for enabling criminal activity and protecting personal privacy. To address this compromises in IoT security will have increased security costs to 20% of annual security budgets. To read more visit on:  http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/by-2020-more-than-half-of-new-business-processes-will-incorporate-some-element-of-iot-says-gartner-295467.html