The author of Competing on Analytics gives managers a non-technical overview of big data and how to exploit the new opportunities it creates. We know companies are awash in data; and we know mining and using this data in the right way can turn a mediocre company into a winning one. So how, as a leader, do you make that happen? In Big Data at Work, Tom Davenport gives managers a concise, nontechnical overview of big data and explains how to exploit the new opportunities it creates. He describes how big and small companies in a variety of industries are already achieving this potential, and he shares a new framework for developing a strategy that managers can put to immediate use. Cutting through the hype to surface only the information leaders need in order to apply this critical information to their own businesses, Davenport provides a much-needed guide through the data stream.You'll learn: what makes big data different from analytics and conventional business intelligence; what technology your company needs to handle big data projects; which aspects of big data make the most sense to apply to your business; what you can learn from start-ups; how to hire, rent, or develop the kinds of people who make big data work; what type of culture and behaviors are needed to support big data projects; and, which management approaches are best suited to different types of big data uses. From managing costs and building processes to improving decisions and making an impact, Big Data at Work is the right book for the right time-helping you seize the opportunities that big data presents while helping you think through how to manage that data for the long term.