Are credit unions ready for big data?

Big data promises to mine vast pools of data for insights that inform business decisions and create opportunities. But is it more abstract theory than practical business tool? Are credit unions ready to forge ahead?

How can financial institutions harness big data to their advantage?

There’s no quick fix, says Anne Legg, SVP/Business Strategy & Innovation at Third Degree Advertising.

“Simply adding ‘big data’ to someone’s job description and buying a software package is like giving a person a magic wand and expecting miracles,” Legg says in a CUNA white paper on data analytics.

In the report, “Big Data: Telling Powerful Stories to Expand Growth & Relationship Opportunities,” Legg and other credit union experts explore how financial institutions can make sense of this troublesome topic by examining their data and asking the right questions.

Legg says the challenge for most financial institutions is that the data already exists… it is simply waiting for someone to find the story it tells.

“You have to look at your data and see the stories it tells you,” Legg explains. “How can you pull stories out of your data?”

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