Big Data and the 4 BIG Ways You Can leverage it
Data are now woven into every sector and function in the global economy. The modern economic activity simply cannot do without them. The use of Big Data is becoming a crucial way for leading companies to outperform their competitors. In industries, established competitors will leverage data-driven strategies to innovate, compete and capture value. How? Let’s see. . .
Up until now, the torrent of data flooding the world has been a phenomenon that probably only excited a few data geeks. But that’s changed now. According to research from McKinsey Global Institute, the sheer volume of data generated, stored and mined for insights has become economically relevant to businesses, consumers and governments.
The question is, what are the ways to leverage big data?
- As organizations create and store more transaction based data in digital form, they can collect more detailed performance information. From product inventories to sick days and therefore, expose variability and boost performance. Some companies are using their ability to collect and analyze big data to conduct controlled experiments to make better management decisions
- Sophisticated analytics can substantially improve decision-making, minimize risks and unearth valuable insights that would otherwise remain hidden.
- Big data can also be used to develop the next generation of products and services. For example, manufacturers are using data obtained from sensors embedded in products to create innovative after-sales service offerings- such as proactive maintenance to avoid failures in new products.
- Big data allows ever-narrower segmentation of customers and therefore much more precisely tailored products or services.
In addition to the sheer scale of Big Data, the real-time and high-frequency nature of the data is also important. For example, ‘nowcasting,’ the ability to estimate metrics such as consumer confidence immediately (something which previously could only be done retrospectively), is becoming more extensively used.
This adds considerable power to prediction. Similarly, the high frequency of data allows users to test theories in near real-time and to a level never before possible.
Isn’t that just awesome?