It shows so much wisdom when people say it is not easy for you to manage things you cannot measure. The recent development of digital data is now very important for businesses. With the help of big data, managers can now measure and know more about their business performance because this knowledge will help them to make informed decisions.
The revolution of big data comes with its challenges. Businesses need to learn how to secure their data. Nevertheless, it is a welcome decision that business managers need to leverage.
What is new about big data?
Managers often ask “is big data the same thing as analytics?” The truth is that there is a relationship. The big data evolution, just like analytics, seeks to obtain information and knowledge from data. Apart from these, there are three main differences:
1. Velocity
Data is being created in no time. The process is fast, and you gain rapid insights quickly. These insights help business managers to gain a competitive advantage.
2. Volume
More data now cross the internet every second. The number keeps doubling every 40 months and the story is no longer the same. Big data allows many companies to access many petabytes of data daily.
3. Variety
Big Data is usually in from of GPS signals from phones, images on social networks, updates, messages, and many more. As more businesses go digital, there are newer sources of information from cheaper equipment. Managers no longer use intuition; they now make decisions based on evidence. Variety is the spice of big data. Electronic communications, social networks, mobile phones all produce large amounts of data from their normal operations. We all use them daily, we are now walking data-generators.
Benefits of big data in business
1. It delivers a competitive advantage
Data is a huge part of a modern workplace. Corporations have been able to move forward and far ahead of their peers. A recent survey shows that organizations that use advanced analytics have been able to move ahead of their counterparts. Such companies have been able to drive revenue twice as that of their industry peers. Not only that, but they are also likely to make the best decisions than their market peers.
2. Improvement in decision making
Companies can now back up their decisions with evidence rather than intuition and emotions. It provides a balance where opinions vary. With big data, you can review your products better. 76% of people are likely to purchase a product like the detox kit after seeing its review.
Analytics engines are smarter and unbiased. They can absorb a company’s outcome and connect them with relevant data. The best aspect is, they analyze these data without limitations that human decision-makers experience.
3. Improvement in performance
Big data drive productivity. Analyzing individual and team performance will show business managers the necessary areas for improvement. Instead of conducting a one-time training for employees, the use of big data will continually reveal new areas that need improvement.
Challenges of big data
1. Leadership
Companies that use big data still need leadership teams that can set realistic goals and ask the right question. Big data still need human insight and vision to drive success. The successful companies in the next decade will be those who have good leaders. These leaders will be the ones to understand the market, deal with customers, and also think creatively.
2. Talent management
Data scientists are the most crucial to this revolution. Many of the techniques for using big data are rarely taught in schools. People with these skills are hard to find, and they are currently in high demand. Only data scientists can manipulate and understand big data sets while making sense of the results in management and business terms.
3. Security and data privacy
There are potential risks in terms of security and privacy. Tools used for data analysis store the data in disparate sources. This leads to exposure of data, making it vulnerable to breach. The more data you get, the deeper are your privacy and security concerns.
Companies should make use of Data Lake to store a vast amount of data. Data Lake is different from a traditional warehouse. It protects data from unwanted manipulation and enables businesses to make decisions accurately.
Conclusion
Despite its challenges, it is clear that data-driven companies make better decisions than their industry peers. Companies that figure out how to use it effectively will move ahead of their rivals. Most importantly, there is now an exponential growth in the amount of data. Businesses need to leverage the combination of data, the right people, and tools to drive change.
Source: Big Data: The Data Management Revolution
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