Even though big global brands appear to be making all of the news and noise surrounding Big Data, the powerful computing necessary to run business analytics is not out of reach for mid-market companies. That’s good news for those who may be thinking about investing in Big Data solutions in order to gain fresh insight into their customers' experiences, expectations and buying habits.

According to industry analysts, spending is expected to more than triple in the near term, from $867M in 2012 to $3.6B in 2016. Fortunately, there are a number of cost-effective ways SMBs (small and mid-market business) can cash in on the Big Data revolution. ICC, a nationally recognized enterprise technology leader, has outlined six steps mid-market companies can take to assess whether a Big Data solution is within reach.