Big Data Analytics in Business - Lecture 4

Lecture 4: Big Data Analytics in Business (2)

• Case Study: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
• Walt Disney Background: Family entertainment company, 126 million annual visitors to theme parks and resorts.
• MagicBand Introduction: Plastic bracelets with RFID radios, launched early 2014.
• MagicBand Functionality: Connects guest data (park tickets, hotel rooms, payments, photos) to the bracelets.

RFID Technology

• RFID Definition: Radio Frequency Identification, a technology that digitally encodes data in tags or smart labels, read by radio waves.
• Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC): Group of technologies including RFID that automatically identify objects, collect data about them, and enter it directly to computer systems. Requires little to no human intervention.
• RFID Components: RFID tag/smart label, RFID reader, antenna.
• How RFID Works: The RFID tag sends data to the reader via radio waves. The reader then transmits data to a local server and/or enterprise system.
• Active vs. Passive RFID Tags: Active tags have batteries, continuously broadcasting signals, often more expensive, and are used in tracking and tolling. Passive tags have no internal power, relying on external readers for power, are cheaper and smaller and are used for tracking, access control and more.

RFID Applications

• Inventory Management: Tracking and managing inventory.
• Asset Tracking: Monitoring and locating valuable assets.
• Personnel Tracking: Tracking individuals, and monitoring their movements, and location
• Access Control: Controlling access to restricted areas.
• ID Badging: Using RFID tags/labels as personal identifiers.
• Supply Chain Management: Tracking products at all stages during distribution.
• Counterfeit Prevention: Using RFID to verify authenticity.

Big Data in Practice (Walt Disney)

• MagicBand Usage: Guests use MagicBands voluntarily; 10 million have been issued in two years.
• Data Collection (MagicBand): Who the guests are, where they are in the park, what rides they ride, and what items they purchase.
• Solutions Provided by Big Data (MagicBand): Predict customer needs, improve theme park experience, allowing guests personalize experience, anticipate customer needs, allow for linked card payments for ease of purchase.
• Real-time Data Knowledge: Audience profiles, customer preferences, real-time traffic flow around the park, line lengths, and restaurant demand.
• Data Analysis: Mining insights about guest behavior to create customized experiences.

Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)

• Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Application: Internet access for visitors to make and modify park reservations, as well as other needs while in the parks.
• Technical Details: 802.11 network standards which transmit via 2.4 GHz or 5GHz frequency levels. WiFi allows for network transmittal of data needed for reservations, or other similar functions.

Challenges in Using Big Data

• Financial Investment: Substantial cost for installing free Wi-Fi across the resort, and training staff on how to use new systems, like MyMagical+ for example.
• Data Security: Significant security concerns regarding personal data collected through MagicBands.
• Staff Training: Need to train park staff on how to use the new (MyMagical+) systems

Technical Details

• Software used: Hadoop (Apache), Cassandra and MongoDB.
• Platform details: Distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers, for scaling in the thousands. Built for modern application developers and for use in the cloud era.

Summary of Case Study

• Disney uses big data to personalize guest experience and anticipate needs.
• The implementation was costly in terms of financial investment and staff training.
• Data security protocols were in place to protect personal data.