Big data analytics has been around for a while and its worth has widely been accepted. Yet, companies still struggle with maintaining their data, storing it, and then actually using it.  When large amounts of data are being processed at high speeds, companies need a solution to help leverage their data. One solution is cloud computing, which gives organizations the ability to consolidate data across all of their channels and sources at a grand scale.   So what exactly...

Nothing is hotter than mobile right now. 72% of Americans have some sort of mobile device. [1] 62% of digital media time is spent on smartphones and tablets. [2] Mobile apps have also driven most of the growth in digital media usage in the past two years. While these numbers all represent the unique opportunity of mobile and building mobile apps, they also present unique challenges when it comes to native mobile analytics, which refers to data gleaned from a standalone application on a part...

The SiteCatalyst Attribute Importing and Naming Tool (SAINT) can be a remarkable resource in the right hands, particularly for campaign tracking. No matter your skill level, tracking can be complex business, especially when it comes to classifying inbound traffic correctly. With this tool, you have the ability to retroactively apply and edit metadata, adding considerable value to your analytics program without the complexity and level of effort required for tagging. As long as a unique key is ca...

Designing, implementing, and maintaining a data layer is not for the faint of heart, especially the latter. As your analytics endeavors grow, your data layers may also grow into an unwieldly beast of a maze – track these users, store this data, change this location, deploy this design, etc. While your organization may constantly be putting plans into motion to expand, difficulties may arise with time as you add more to your already complicated data layer setup.  For example, let’s sa...

Here’s a question I know you’ve asked yourself: what does Mr. Miyagi know about vendor selection?     The answer is simpler than you’d think. Mr. Miyagi – the wise mentor from the classic Karate Kid films -- was a fisherman and a martial artist. For all intents and purposes, this meant he knew about the complex nature of vendor selection, as well as how those vendors would satisfy his varying business requirements. In addition, he likely knew whether those vendors we...

Data integration has experienced an extraordinary growth over the last decade. A recent IDC report indicated that the big data technology and services market will grow 26.4% to $41.5 billion through 2018 -- about six times the growth rate of the overall information technology market.    These numbers make sense. In today's business climate, data has become the single most valuable asset for many companies. For a firm to remain competitive and satisfy growing demands of custo...

A data layer is a variable -- or set of properties and values -- that define a piece or grouping of information to be accessed and used for the purpose of tracking data and/or interactions. At its best, a data layer creates a "one-stop shop" for referencing any data that needs to be tracked.   Client controlled means that it is created and maintained by the client, whether it is done via the IT department, marketing department, or within a CDN. But, what are the core reasons why...