Big Data is a term that has gained a lot of traction in the last few years, but what does it mean? Big data is often defined as high volume, high velocity, and a great variety of information assets requiring new processing forms to enable enhanced decision-making. What makes big data so important for businesses today? This blog post will discuss the benefits of big data and its importance.
What is Big Data?
Big Data is a field of study that involves data management and analytics, intending to uncover hidden patterns and unknown correlations within large datasets. Big Data encompasses increased computing power (in terms of capacity and speed), cloud storage, advanced software tools (data visualization, etc.), open-source platforms such as Apache Hadoop, NoSQL databases like Cassandra or MongoDB, real-time analytics, data modeling, and ultimately business intelligence.
Types of Big Data
Big data has three main classifications: business or structured data, unstructured data, and semi-structured data.
1. Structured data
It is the type of data most familiar to us, as it’s what we see in our everyday lives. For example, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers- even this blog post you are reading right now.
The business value of structured data lies within how well an organization can utilize its existing systems and processes for analysis purposes. This information typically comes from internal sources, such as ERP systems and CRM applications.
2. Unstructured data
It is information that does not have a predefined data model or format associated with it. This includes text documents (e.g., reports), email messages, social media feeds (Facebook status updates), XML files, video/audio recordings, etc. Unstructured data, in contrast to structured data, does not have predefined field names or variable constraints.
The business value of unstructured information lies within how well an organization can utilize its existing systems and processes for analysis purposes. This information typically comes from external sources such as social media platforms and other web-based data feeds.
Additionally, unstructured information is also known as “dark data” because it cannot be analyzed without the proper software tools or expertise to make sense of this type of content.
3. Semi-structured data
It is the information that falls somewhere between structured and unstructured data. This type of information typically comes from external sources, such as social media platforms or other web-based data feeds. Semi-structured content is often used to store metadata about a business process (e.g., an API), but it can also include files containing machine instructions for computer programs.
The business value of semi-structured data lies within how well an organization can utilize its existing systems and processes for analysis purposes. This information typically comes from external sources such as social media platforms or other web-based data feeds.
Who Does Big Data Impact?
Big Data impacts every industry because the information collected by businesses exists across all areas of a company- from marketing to finance to customer service. The more advanced technological capabilities accessible through Big Data will become increasingly important for companies in today’s technology-driven world.
Importance of Big Data
Big data is crucial because it allows you to see the whole picture, making better-informed decisions that will enable your company to operate more efficiently with less risk.
It provides businesses with information about their customers and how these customers interact with the company, which leads to:
More Revenue: Making more informed data-driven business decisions will help to drive revenue and increase profits. Increased customer satisfaction leads to increased sales. This is especially helpful for companies trying to expand into new markets as they can provide the right products and services at the right time, in the right place, and with the right messages based on what their customers want.
Big data can also help increase market share, as it helps companies identify the needs of their customers and create products that meet those needs. It can provide an insight into what consumers like or don’t like; this information is precious as it allows companies to improve and redesign their products to appeal more to the consumer.
Reduced Costs: The more a company knows about its customers, the less it will need to spend on research and marketing as they will be able to predict what kind of adverts or messages consumers want to see, reducing these costs. It can also help companies reduce their inventory as they can track what items are selling well and which aren’t. They can reduce the amount of unsold inventory by either changing the manufacturing process, redesigning the product to make it more appealing, or creating a new product that will appeal more to consumers.
Improved Competitive Advantage: Traditional business intelligence tools used only within your company were helpful as they provided valuable insight into operations and costs, but once you shared this data with the public, your competition would be able to use this information against you; however, big data allows companies to develop an improved competitive advantage by analyzing data that is not shared externally. For example, a company could analyze the sales data of its competitors and use this information for its benefit.
Companies can create new products and services that can derive valuable insights from the information they collect. For example, gathering location-based information through cellphones can lead to innovations in public safety, such as tracking traffic patterns to help ease congestion and reduce commuter time; similarly, weather apps that provide real-time updates regarding air quality or pollen levels can give users the information they need to protect their health.
How To Implement Big Data
Big data can be implemented through an advanced Business Intelligence system or software package that allows users to store, process, and analyze all of the information collected by their business in one centralized location. These tools are specifically designed for today’s modern organizations- allowing them to harness this unprecedented amount of data collected by their company.
Uses of Big Data
Big data is used by medical professionals to understand patient behavior better and to improve diagnosis. For example, doctors may be able to track symptoms of a disease in real-time by observing activity on social media and other medical records and determine proper treatments for patients or even predict outbreaks.
Financial organizations use big data to monitor a company’s financial health and make better decisions about its loans.
Big data is used by government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security to analyze social media comments for potential threats against national security.
Big data also affect retail businesses, where companies use BI tools to track customer behavior, discover purchasing trends, and create better targeting for marketing plans.
Bottom Line
Big Data is the new “big thing” in technology today. Every industry has some impact when it comes to collecting information and delivering this information/ reporting with the proper interpretation of the data in an understandable format so everyone can use this for their advantage will allow companies to be more proactive when making decisions, reduce costs, and more.