All cases will be based on the author’s direct insights with the companies listed ? these are all organisations which he has either consulted for or been granted access to direct interviews, and have endorsed their inclusion in the book.

All chapters will follow a similar structure so that the reader can scan the various sections to quickly find the information they are after.

Chapter structure:

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• Background
  • A brief overview of the company and context of the case study
  • What Problem Is Big Data Helping To Solve?
    • A description of what business problem / or issues big data is helping to solve in this case study company.
    • How Is Big Data Used In Practice?
      • An outline of how big data was applied in this case example. Outlining the implementation, where the data came from, how it was analysed, what algorithms were developed.
      • What Where The Results?
        • A description of the benefits / insights gained and the value of these.
        • What Data Was Used?
          • A description of what data was used (external, internal, quantities, structured, unstructured, sources)
          • What Are The Technical Details?
            • A description of the technical details ? e.g. where was the data stored (cloud, hadoop clusters, data lakes) and what where the specifics (programming languages such as Spark or Python) and vendor details.
            • Any Challenges That Had To Be Overcome?
              • Explaining the key project challenges, where applicable and available. E.g. consolidating the data, selling the project, acquiring the right skills, finding the data, etc.)
              • What Are The Key Learning Points And Take Aways?
                • A comment section where I highlight the key learning points from this case study and any generic take aways that should be relevant to others.
                • References And Further Reading
                  • Any references and links to further reading material.

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Case Study Companies

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Here is a list of potential case studies I would include, but this list will be fluid and is highly likely to change as new and interesting cases develop over the next few months.

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1. Amazon ? How predictive analytics are used to get a 360 degree view of customers
2. Apple ? How Apple puts big data at the center of their business
3. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit ? How big data is used to gain performance insights in one of America’s most successful restaurant chains
4. Rolls-Royce ? how big data is used to drive success in manufacturing
5. Shell ? how big data is used in big oil companies
6. Transport for London ? how big data is used to improve and manage public transport in London
7. Milton Keynes City ? how big data is used to create smarter cities
8. Walmart ? how big data is used to drive supermarket performance
9. U.S. Olympic Women’s Cycling Team ? how big data analytics is used to optimize athletes’ performance

10.? Microsoft ? how big data is central to Microsoft’s success

11.? Facebook ? how Facebook used big data to understand consumers

12.? John Deere ? how big data can be applied on farms

13.? LinkedIn ? how big data is used to fuel social media success

14.? Uber ? how big data is at the center of Uber’s transportation business

15.? US Immigration ? how big data is used to keep passengers safe and prevent terrorism

16.? Acxiom ? how big data is used to profile all of us

17.? Manchester United Football Club ? how big data is used to optimize the beautiful game

18.? Netflix ? how Netflix used big data to give us the programs we want

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:HowNetflixUsed Big Data To Give Us The ProgrammesWeWant 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 BigData Is Essential To The Success Of Motorsport Teams 45

8 Pendleton& Son Butchers: Big Data For Small Business 51

9 US OlympicWomen’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 BigData Can Be AppliedOn 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 MarketingWith 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 CraftyWay 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 IBMWatson: 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 BigData IsAt 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

FinalThoughts 293

About the Author 297

Acknowledgements 299

Index 301