Book Reviews

Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data
978-1-119-21784-8



"As more and more entrepreneurs, investors, and customers talk about Big Data, it gets harder and harder to understand what the phrase actually means. Phil Simon does a great job defining it and making a clear business case for the ideas that are typically incorporated into the phrase Big Data. Ignore this book at your own peril."

Brad Feld
Foundry Group, Managing Director
and author of Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City


"Simon’s book provides a very valuable primer to the increasingly important world of Big Data – what it is, what it isn’t, and how it is being used and potentially abused. Anyone wishing to get up to speed quickly on the big ideas and big players behind Big Data will benefit greatly from reading this practical, down-to-earth book."

Robert Charette
President, ITABHI Corporation


"In Too Big to Ignore, Phil Simon takes the mystique out of Big Data. He weaves the human, technical, and organizational requirements for success into an accessible book for all of us."

Professor Terri L. Griffith, Ph.D.
author of The PLUGGED-IN Manager


"In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell and Chris Anderson, Simon takes a complex topic and makes you think about it differently through real-world storytelling that resonates."

Jay Baer
co-author of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social


"Phil Simon gets that business executives are no longer content with roll-up reports and summarized spreadsheets—they want detailed, consumable information in order to make fact-based decisions about their companies and customers. Too Big to Ignore provides a comprehensive overview of the Big Data trend, detailing the new components of the Big Data."

Jill Dyché
Vice President of SAS Best Practices
author of The CRM Handbook


"Simon has an uncanny ability to connect business cases with complex technical principles, and most importantly, clearly explain how everything comes together. In this book, Simon demystifies Big Data. Simon’s vision helps the rest of us understand how this evolving and pervasive subject affects businesses today; and how we can use it to our advantage or completely miss the boat."

Dalton Cervo
co-author of Master Data Management in Practice—Achieving True Customer MDM and president of Data Gap Consulting


"From Twitter feeds to photo streams to RFID pings, the Big Data universe is rapidly expanding, providing unprecedented opportunities to understand the present and peer into the future. Tapping its potential while avoiding its pitfalls doesn’t take magic; it takes a map. In Too Big to Ignore, Phil Simon offers businesses a comprehensive, clear-eyed, and enjoyable guide to the next data frontier."

Chris Berdik
author of Mind over Mind: The Surprising Power of Expectations


"Business leaders are drowning in data, and the deluge has only just begun. In Too Big to Ignore, Simon delves into the world of Big Data, and makes the business case for capturing, structuring, analyzing and visualizing the immense amount of information accessible to businesses. This book gives your organization the edge it needs to turn data into intelligence, and intelligence into action."

Paul Roetzer
Founder & CEO, PR 20/20
author of The Marketing Agency Blueprint


"Phil Simon’s Too Big to Ignore clearly demonstrates the increasing role and value of Big Data. His illustrative case studies and engaging style will dispel any doubts executives may have about how Big Data is driving success in today’s economy."

Adrian C. Ott
award-winning author of The 24-Hour Customer


"Today Big data affects everybody and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In Too Big to Ignore, Phil Simon makes the topic accessible and relatable. This important book shows people how to put Big Data to work for their organizations."

William McKnight
President, McKnight Consulting Group