Microsoft recently released Power BI, a browser-based platform for data visualization which is capable of pulling data from a range of other tools, including its own Dynamics CRM platform as well as Google Analytics, Twilio and Salesforce.

Any business with a website offering payment processing should be pursuing all possible ways to maximise customer purchases.

A lot of organizations simply don't have the time, computing resources or expertise to handle big data processing in-house. They may have tried to take on some internal big data projects only to find that the expense of the project outweighs the benefits, or that they end up failing to meet important deadlines. Their lack of resources and expertise leaves them with the impression that analytics is a waste of time for their company.

Big data is something that has been a core part of every enterprise strategy for a long time now, and the technology behind it is finally becoming accessible to smaller companies as well. We can expect to see some huge steps forward in the use of big data over the next year, with smaller companies being able to take advantage of analytics, tracking and sophisticated marketing techniques on a whole new level.

The importance of web analytics is well understood. Tracking who comes to your website, when they come, how long they stay and what they do is essential if you want to optimize the performance of your site. However, that is not the only use of analytics. The most successful brands also use analytics for their mobile apps and for social media too.

It’s no secret the internet is the primary destination for all shoppers these days. From luxury Caribbean holidays to fancy Jimmy Choos and offices to rent. It’s all there. All waiting. All competing for buyer’s attention. Quite naturally, just like their high-street counterparts, online shoppers like to do some looking around. They like to shop for bargains. They like to make the right purchases. Typical online shopppers might visit 4, 5 or sometimes more websites going through their researching and buying decisions.