Why Your Business Needs Big Data to be Done Right
The age of the Internet continues in full-swing. It is simply impossible for any company or individual living within modern society to ignore the use and impact of online marketing and mobile technology. This digital culture has disrupted a range aspects of our everyday culture. One of these most impactful changes is the rise of big data.
What is Big Data?
The collection of data is nothing new. Humans have long asked questions of our neighbors, took surveys, or held polls to determine the best reaction to a particular instance. In the early 2000’s the Internet allowed companies, governments, and other organizations to start collecting information through brand new technology that had greater reach and a bigger sample size. It was in this early period of desktop computers and the first dot-com revolution that big data was born.
As we continued to integrate machines such as smartphones and artificial intelligence into our real lives, we generated exponentially more digital data. Today, everything an ordinary individual does online is tracked and categorized in the vast storage hubs of online data. Executives and organizations continue to utilize traditional sources of information, but digital information has become the primary driver of big data.
Those involved in digital analytics, programming, and data consultation consider three aspects of information when defining “big data.” These considerations are volume, velocity, and variety. Big data is defined by the sheer amount of information garnered from digital sources, which includes information that is passed on a machine-to-machine basis. The volume also indicates that there is far more information and digital data collected than can be analyzed or applied by humans.
Velocity denotes the fact that big data is pulled and stored at a rapid rate. It is generated faster than ever before but also becomes irrelevant sooner. The velocity with which we collect data makes certain sets of information obsolete before any program can organize it.
Finally, variety is the indication that big data is not restricted to numbers, but can be obtained from diverse sources and stored in various ways. Everything from email communication to videography can be arranged into digital data that provides insight to companies and helps form business strategies.
What Does Big Data Mean for a Business
Utilizing big data can be an intimidating step for a business, and the trepidation is warranted. The vast amount of digital data available can be a logistical nightmare to collect and handle. Yet, companies that harness their resources and develop processes to appropriately analyze even a fraction of this data are going to gain a distinct competitive advantage in their industry.
Big data allows executives, boards of directors, and managers at a company to make decisions and take action based on the best information available. This means individual decisions are made with insight into customer preferences and more certainty.
Overall, strategies based on big data empower managers to act with greater certainty and conviction. This improves communication and explanation to employees and increases the likelihood that an entire team will buy into an idea. Often, the result is greater success. Some marketers and executives are proclaiming the use of big data as a decision-making revolution with the business world.
One of the easiest places to witness this data revolution is in retail and eCommerce. Companies are utilizing detailed data sets and pieces of consumer information to drive their decisions. This makes the art of selling more rational and logical, as the preferences of customers and potential customers are apparent. However, big data could change everything from healthcare to disaster planning. It can improve humanitarian efforts, help with scientific research, and improve our planet.
How a Development Failure Becomes a Big Data Crisis
There is so much information out there that a company must have processes to prioritize the right data, otherwise it can be overwhelming and ineffective. Data consultants and analysts agree that there is more information being collected than can be utilized. Not even technology superpower IBM has enough staff to sort the data being collected by the business. In a world of digital data, analyzing every data set is impossible. So, a business needs to analyze the right information.
When it comes to digital data, which accounts for the majority of what we consider big data today, proper programming can pull the right data for analysis. Smart and savvy back-end development on your website, mobile app, or other technology is paramount. For a number of companies, this involves consulting and hiring an expert team of programmers and developers.
The team at Nixa employs custom web development to address the volume, velocity, and variety of data and arrange it in a form useable and relevant to your business. Contact Nixa today to learn how big data can be not only managed, but optimized, to improve your business decisions.