The first step for you in identifying your communication needs is to recognize the various audience groups and the content you want to deliver to those groups. We feel you can divide your audience groups into three broad categories:

The Internal group includes employees and contractors working in your organization, even those not belonging to your particular business unit. There are sections of this group that will be impacted more by your Big Data initiatives than others. We recommend that you consider everybody for your communication plan; if required, modulate the intensity and extent of your communication based on the impact levels. The External group includes customers; ecosystem partners in your business, such as suppliers; and business influencers—people such as analysts and consultants who can potentially sway your customers' opinion about your products and services. If your business has shareholders, we recommend that...