How Big Data Is Disrupting Big Business Right Now

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McKinsey and Company estimate that 84% of executives believe their future success is dependent on innovation. In terms of businesses, innovation helps them to grow and plays a very important role in terms of economic growth.

So what is big data? Put simply, big data is larger, more complex data sets, especially from new data sources. These data sets are so voluminous that traditional data processing software just can’t manage them.

This data can be categorized, analyzed and used for businesses large and small to innovate, iterate and tackle problems that were simply out of reach. Let’s take a look inside.

Exploring the 3 V’s of Big Data

Like many academic or technological advances, big data can be broken down into 3 letters, the 3 V’s.

· Big Volume: Your business has too much data, and you can’t manage the gigabytes, let alone the petabytes. 

· Big Velocity: The data is coming into your business too fast, and you can’t keep up.

· Big Variety: Data good, bad and ugly is being thrown at you from too many locations, too many integrated systems that you just can’t categorize and analysis quick enough.

As big data continues to evolve, we see companies working to address the amount of data that’s coming in, the rate at which it’s coming in, and the variation in data itself.  So, it’s not that it is a bad thing that there is so much data available, the key to effectively harnessing big data is understanding what to do with it.

Tailored interactions

Like everything in today’s world, we want our coffee the way we like it. We want our airline experience tailored to our personal needs not to mention our retail experience to be as “one-on-one” as having your own shopping assistant, while you shop alone in a department store.

Big data is actively allowing companies to do all of the above and more. Take online airlines, for instance, through frequent flyer programs and integrated partner programs, they have more data than ever. The bigger question to ask, how much data do they have on you?

They know when you fly, how you fly, what seat you prefer, where you go, where you stay, where you eat and more. A recent big data study by Virgin airlines found that by removing options for consumers allowed for airline tickets to be sold at a more accessible price point. In turn, this data was leveraged to maximize ancillary revenue streams. 

The impact of 5G

5G telco networks are set to revolutionize that way that businesses and individuals consume and use data. It will effectively increase speed and move more data. Additionally, it will be more responsive and connect to more devices at once. 

So, how will 5G impact business? It will allow a whole new realm of possibilities for businesses. From faster data transfer speeds, higher definition content, better streaming, faster connectivity for wearables and fewer dropouts.

But for business, extended or augmented reality and interactivity adds a whole new dimension to consumer interaction. From accessing and processing big data, as well as the integration with the IoT or Internet of things, allows marketers to scale their campaigns thanks to faster connectivity and lower latency.  In turn, this increases the effectiveness, efficiency, reach, frequency of targeted marketing campaigns.

Is the fourth industrial revolution really underway?  

The industrial revolution saw the changes in standards of living for people across the globe, it saw manufacturing and production come to the forefront. The second was that of the age of science and mass production, third was the rise of digital technology and big data is a large part of the fourth and potentially most prominent industrial revolution.

Artificial intelligence, big data, and bio-robotics are just a few of the innovations that theorists claim will come to embody the fourth industrial revolution. Just how far and wide-reaching this revolution takes humanity is anyone’s guess.

Big data has wide-ranging implications for both business and society at large. From privacy to connectivity, from safety through to personalization, there are pros and cons at each and every turn. The key is that big data is here; the fourth industrial revolution is here, is your business going to be on the right side to embrace it?