About 80%.

That’s how much of my time, I’d estimate, that’s spent talking with people about big data for the wine industry and, more importantly, why they should care.

Does that come as a surprise?

There’s a fair amount of ramping up to do when you’re introducing a new way of working with data, between the network of partners to aggregating sources to the value of a global footprint.

I get it, and I’m dedicated to sharing the value of data insights as often and as articulately as possible.

Lately, however, I’ve noticed a shift in these conversations. We seem to have reached a tipping point when it comes to understanding big data for wine in general, and also what it means specifically for the person or team we’re talking to.

More people are getting it, more often and more quickly than when we first started Enolytics, not even two years ago.

Here are three reasons why.

It’s Hyperlocal

The lightbulb goes on when we show the world map plotted with “hotspots” of wine consumer behavior, from New Zealand to Cape Town and from Madrid to Seattle. But then we show maps (like the one above) that are “zoomed in” to hotspots of interest in particular markets or neighborhoods or zip codes – specific areas, in other words, that are relevant to the work and the goals of the people we’re talking to.

That’s a moment when they see why they should care. It’s relevant to them personally.

The Big Data World is Getting Smaller

Not smaller in terms of the quantity of data, I mean, but smaller in terms of the degrees of separation between sources and team leaders. It’s a fundamental tenet of Enolytics to function as “the Switzerland of big data,” in that we’ll gladly work with any source who has valuable records to contribute. There’s also a cooperative nature that’s implied in that approach, in that we’ll gladly connect sources with clients, and with each other, when it helps to move projects forward. Which is often.

That, too, tightens the connections and makes working with big data – multiple sources of big data, no less – less daunting and less of a reach within the normal protocol of everyday business.

The Tipping Point of Questions

We seem to have reached a tipping point, too, when it comes to questions asked over the course of a conversation about data. There are more questions. They are more varied. They are more specifically relevant to the goals of the people we’re talking to.

It’s less, How can you help me understand wine consumers in the U.S.? It’s more, How can you help me understand wine consumer behavior in white tablecloth restaurants in Washington DC at the $50 and above category?

It’s less, Can you integrate with other platforms we already buy into? It’s more, Here’s access to the platform we already use. How can we get more out of it? And how can you overlay external data so that our data spend is optimized?

Do you see the difference?

The more that we create the space for conversation, the better the conversations we can have. The better the conversations, the more directly relevant the outcomes can be.

And the more big data can matter to you, in the best, most effective ways.

I look forward, as always, to your responses, comments and questions. And thank you for reading.