New technologies are emerging at a dizzying pace, and everything is becoming more networked, connected and digital. The Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, self-driving cars, and drones are all new technologies rapidly changing how we live and work. In addition to these new technologies, new terms are also emerging along with them. One such term is "Big Data", a phrase you might have heard in passing but don't fully understand.
What is Big Data?
Big Data is the large and growing amount of information that people, organisations, and sensors are generating. When data is generated, copied, and transmitted over the Internet, the volume of data expands dramatically. And when the information is stored and processed, it is likely to be massively magnified again. The result is that a vast and growing volume of data in the world is waiting to be analysed and used.
Every day, we are creating close to 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. 90% of the data around the world today has been created in the last two years. Every corner of the world has some data to offer, from climate information gathered from sensors, social media site posts, digital pictures and videos, transaction records, to cell phone GPS data.
Big data is often characterised by three V's: Volume, Variety, and Velocity. Volume refers to the huge amount of data being generated. Variety refers to the fact that data comes in many different types, originating from various sources and formats. Velocity refers to data arriving and being generated at an ever-increasing rate.
How Does Big Data Differ from Traditional Data?
Traditional data is structured and collected for specific actions and tasks. Big Data, on the other hand, is unstructured and collected in bulk for analysis and insights. Traditional data also tends to be processed in a centralised way. Data is stored in databases that a single organisation manages. Big Data is distributed across many different organisations.
Why Is Big Data Important?
Big Data is essential because it gives us insights into every aspect of our lives and our world. It helps us to understand ourselves, our health, our finances, our relationships, and our behaviour. It helps businesses make better decisions and improve their operations. It helps us understand our markets, customers, and supply chains.
According to research, the big data analytics market for software and services is forecast to be worth $103 billion by 2023.
Who's Using Big Data Right Now?
Healthcare: Every year, millions of people die from diseases that could have been prevented. New technologies and methods of collecting data are helping to make health data easier to study and use. Big Data is helping us to understand our bodies, our health, and our behaviours, improving treatment and preventing future illnesses.
Finance: Big Data helps investors make better decisions. It helps them to understand their customers and their markets better and to forecast future events. Big Data also helps us better understand the global economy, which is essential for preventing recessions and financial crises.
Motor Insurance: DSG in partnership with Zendrive offers an IQL (Insurance Qualified Leads) Ecosystem in South Africa which uses Big Data from multiple sensors on the mobile device via the Zendrive SDK to assess driver behaviour and therefore risk, matching insurance companies interested in that preferred risk.
Understanding the customer driving behaviour via a 30-day trial whereby the consumer simply changes the permission on their phone to allow tracking of their driving behaviour. Post the trial, a personalised quote from the insurance company interested in the risk is provided. The assessment of the risk upfront yields better results for consumer and insurer, with profitability per customer improving in the long term when there is a low claim ratio.
About two years ago Elon Musk announced that Tesla would start offering insurance to its customers at a 20 or even 30 per cent discount. "Our insurance is based on how you actually drive, not how historically people that fit your demographic have driven," Musk explained. The result could be devastating for traditional insurers, who simply have nothing like the level of data about their customers that Tesla and other car makers do.
eCommerce: Data is the new currency. Big data helps e-commerce companies find patterns, trends, and personalisation to give them a better understanding of their online customers. Big data can be used to make recommendations based on "look alike" audience data and the likelihood that a person will buy something based on data that already exists.
Retail: Retailers use Big Data to understand their customers and their markets better. They also use it to improve their supply chains and their operations.
The results of a global study commissioned by CA Technologies has revealed that the benefits of Big Data clearly outweigh the obstacles. The percentage of organizations that plan to or have already implemented a Big Data project is 84%. The study demonstrated a tangible increase in revenue of 88%, improved competitive positioning increased by 92%, the ability to provide new products and services increased by 94%, and companies have a 90% more targeted marketing campaign.
#DoingSomethingGreat means unlocking endless possibilities through optimum use of big data.