Eating Data
You can’t get more real in “making something” than producing food. Farmers are using “real time” data to guide fertilizer use and achieving a trifecta of benefist: saving money on production costs, reducing pollution from fertilizer run off, and reducing the time they spend on calculating nutrient reqruirements for their crops. Thanks to a host of mobile applications created by commercial, government and non-profit organizations, farmers are able to improve their product and production. I especially like the ability to take field samples from corn stalks or leaf test that can be used to provide a snap shot or a report card on how much nirogen a corn crop is taking up or needs. Pretty cool, right?
Data Forestry
Like the food that we eat, we often don’t give a whole lot of thought to where the wood for our furniture and paper comes from. There are thousands of square miles of planned forest growth throughout the world, yet growers need to know how to maximize the space they have for wood that is in demand. It’s a question of inventory planning that needs to be forecast out for a dozen or more years. Forestry companies that have for years used Geographic Information System (GIS) data are increasing their use of big data, 3D scanning and predictive analytics to produce more wood from fewer trees.
The Data Crossroads – Where Real Products meet Virtual Customers
There are organizations that treat the digital channel as a world that doesn’t exist, in spite of the fact that their digital channel represents the universe of their entire target audience. It’s a decision to narrow focus becasue the organization doesn’t have the vision or process in place to determine products or services that go beyond their current comfort zone. Even companies that do have a more inspired perspective of the online world are still learning how to manage and merge their physically produced products with their online demand.
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