What is Big Data and Why is it Important?

Big data is a broader term that combines large, hard-to-manage volumes of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. As big data is complex and enormous in volume, it is unthinkable to process through conventional data storing tools. Typically, we characterise big data into the five V’s: Volume, Velocity, Variety, Veracity, and Value, to organise our understanding and identify opportunities.

Sources of big data

In this digital era, a vast amount of big data generates every second. This bulk of big data emanates from various digital sources, such as status updates, tweets, photos, videos, news, and information, to name a few. The three primary sources from which big data generates are:

  • social data,
  • machine data,
  • and transactional data

Importance of big data

Big data plays a vital role in shaping the future and securing the present day of the business. It’s not important how huge you own big data, but the secret to success is how you use big data.

Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple Inc Angela Ahrendts says that consumer data is going to be the biggest differentiator over the next few years. The one who unlocks the reams of data and uses it efficiently and strategically will surely succeed.

Now that you have gained insight into big data, we will talk about its importance in the contemporary business landscape. So, let’s jump right into it without further ado.

  1. Big data helps companies make informed decisions

Big data help identify patterns and provide meaningful insights, which are helpful in making informed decisions. Building a data-driven culture undoubtedly takes time, but investing in the right tools helps deliver higher-quality results.

  1. Understand customer desires

Your last order, search history, cart, and favourite products generate data. These data are used by businesses to provide more customised products related to your search history. Like you, millions of customers using various e-commerce platforms generate big data, helping companies understand customer desires and provide better customer service.

  1. Recalculate entire risk portfolios quickly

Big data helps analyse and forecast financial risks that can harm the business. As cybercrimes grow exponentially, big data allows businesses to detect patterns that indicate potential threats to the company.

  1. Determine root causes of failures

Every company draws up a proper plan of action to move in the right direction before starting a business. Unfortunately, many times it never goes as per the plan. Big data helps companies find trends in the market and provides probable reasons behind the failures.

  1. Big data helps optimise business processes

Properly handling customers is a secret to success in the business domain. Big data gives a clear idea of goals besides their outcomes. The outcomes and insight into data can offer endless opportunities to build and enhance a business.

Over to you

Now that you have gained insights into big data, apply for a bachelor’s degree in big data. You can consider top-ranked universities in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun for a better learning experience.