Don't Get Outsmarted

Big data can level the playing field in a market. That's great if you're an upstart challenging established players, but not so great if you're playing defense. By making it easier for even small companies to challenge big ones by finding and exploiting cracks and fissures in the marketing landscape, big data can turn anyone into a competitive threat, according to Shapiro.

The Solution: Companies big and small need to keep parts of their organizations operating like a small, hungry startup, Shapiro says. And businesses like solution providers need to devote energy and resources to market research, competitive intelligence and "ear-to-the-Internet" scouting, he says. Paradigms can shift overnight and competitive threats can come out of nowhere.