Big data should not cross the line

Category: Data management

5 October, 2012

Big data lends companies the ability to know a lot more about their customers than ever before.

If businesses know how to correctly use their data management systems, they are able to discover what individuals buy, when they buy it, and through use of data analysis, why they buy products.

Katherine Fithen, chief privacy officer at Coca-Cola, believes that there is a fine line between using data management to a mutual advantage, and exploiting the information.

"In the US, it is not creepy that the grocery store knows what we buy. In other cultures, it is considered creepy to track that. The use of GPS [global positioning satellite] data is not creepy for some cultures; it is for others,” she said.

If customers find that a company is using excessive amounts of their information to gain a competitive edge, this may put them off using the corporation.

Businesses are encouraged to find a happy medium in their use of data analytics.

Data is at the core of most modern businesses. Kroll Ontrack provides services and software to help you better manage key data such as MS Exchange and SharePoint.

Posted by Ceilidh Robertson