Good article on ReadWriteWeb. At some point,most businesses ask one basic question: is there information out there that will help improve the business? Sometimes the answer is we need lots of bits of information from lots of places. When this is the answer data as a service solutions might be worth the a look. In the article there is a great stand out example of how big data as a service can help small businesses. It's becoming pretty well-known that big data and fast data analysis are being used by large hotels and chains to improve their yield management processes. LeisureLink is a company looking to bring a data as a service platform to small and medium size hotels, restaurants and bed and breakfasts. One of LeisureLink's clients is a 120-room property outside Myrtle Beach, SC, that "is great at hospitality, not necessarily at IT." Using LeisureLinks's service, the property is able to tap into information about local Myrtle Beach hotels and see real-time pricing information on other properties and make adjustments accordingly. This is exactly what the larger hotels and chains have been doing for a while. But now this capability as service is available to smaller, mid-market establishments thanks to Leisure Link. LeisureLinks is a good example of emergent data platforms that can help small businesses using so called big data data mining technqiues that large companies are employing. Worth a read, click on image or title to learn more.
This article states that in order for chains to improve their yield management processes, they must collect big data and analyse the data as fast as possible. it also states that if Big Data can work for every business and it shows that if you get a yes answer to this specific question "Is there information out there that will help improve the business?" then finding big data solution might be worth the effort to improve the business. I believe that every company whether big or small should have the opportunity to be able improve their business by understanding the pricing strategy of other competitors. And it doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money in order to find the answer, there's a good chance that someone out there can have the valuable information you need.