BIG DATA: Here, There, Everywhere

Data is becoming unmanageable everywhere. As data sets have grown in size and complexity, so has the difficulty of processing on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing applications (Wikipedia, 2013). This is no surprise to anyone taking a serious look at data usage.

In the advertising industry alone, plenty of data is used for tracking and trendsetting, from ratings to tweets and followers. Right now, during March Madness, the crunching of data to predict the 68 teams for the national championship run is necessary. On a global scale, here is a glimpse of the statistics giving the McKinsey Global Institute a reason for identifying big data – a growing torrent:

• 30 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook every month
• 40 percent projected growth in global data generated per year vs. 5 percent growth in global IT spend
• 15 of 17 sectors in the US have more data stored per company than the US Library of Congress
• $600 billion potential annual consumer surplus resulting from global use personal location data
• 60 percent potential increase in retailers’ operating margins are possible with big data
• 140,000 – 190,000 more deep analytical talent positions

There is no doubt, as more data materializes, the more it must be analyze for more solid answers to more new questions. Many companies in a variety of industries are taking advantage of big data to make better decisions. Beyond answers, companies are using big data insights to become more competitive, increase revenue and to learn more about potential customers. This is why there is no growing concern about managing big data, but rather a swell of new ideas arising from the benefits of big data. This popularity is creating a greater need for IT departments and/or IT staff. A crucial emerging role for IT is to coach employees at all levels to develop critical information management competencies (Cattie & Riper, 2013). Executives have gotten smart about the importance of big data and the impact on their companies moving forward.

There are still many unknowns about this big data phenomenon and its potential impact on consumers personally. According to Forbes, it is already having an impact on how we spend, how we vote, how we study, how we stay healthy and how we keep or lose our privacy. Big data’s evolution from the technical to practical phase will play a big part in making big data bigger than ever in 2013.

References

Cattie, C & Riper, K. (2013). From big data to better decisions. FCW. Retrieved on March 27, 2013 from:

http://fcw.com/articles/2013/03/29/comment-ceb-big-data-decisions.aspx

Manyika, J., Chui, M., Brown, B., Bughin, J., Dobbs, R., Roxburgh, C. and Byers, A. (2011). Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. McKinsey Global Institute. Retrieved on March 26, 2013 from:

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/big_data_the_next_frontier_for_innovation

Taparia, S. (2013). 5 Ways big data will change lives in 2013. Forbes. Retrieved on March 30, 2013 from:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2013/01/09/5-ways-big-data-will-change-lives-in-2013/

Wikipedia, (2013). Big Data. Retrieved on March 27, 2013 from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_data