The Age of Big Data

Big Data is a term which has come about in recent years, since the dot.com bubble. It is the accumulation of mass amounts of new data so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. According to IBM (2015) we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every single day. There is an unmeasurable amount of data on the internet and it is said, that we have created 90% of this data in the last two years alone (BBC News, 2015). This surge in data is new and unpredictable, people don’t know how to handle it or how far it can go. There are however benefits to this Big Data for companies and customers, such as;

• The opportunity to tailor product offerings to suit customer needs. This can be done by analysing these huge data sets for each person and creating customer specific products and advertisements.
• The ability to more accurately predict trends and behaviour in consumers.
• The accessibility of data to different levels of seniority within organisations. This improves communication and understanding throughout the business.
• Personalised advertisements for the customer resulting in a happier transaction and experience.
• A greater choice for customers as companies better understand niche markets and can find out what consumers are looking for in specific markets.

Like everything however, there are also a number of negatives that must be taken into consideration such as;

• The security and protection of large volumes of personal data. With all of this data so easily accessible there is a huge issue with security. This large amount of data is openly available on the internet and its important to try and protect the users.
• Difficulty of integration of big data across departments within large organisations. With so much data and knowledge it is difficult for companies to get all of this information to everyone in all departments of the company.
• A track record of your transactions and history is available for a long time and can be hard to get rid of a negative record even if you have turned over a new leaf.

it is a new era and big data is going to play a massive part in the business environment. By combining big data and high powered analytics, it will be possible to drastically improve business and logistical operations. It will be possible to determine root causes of failures, issues and defects in near-real time, potentially saving billions of dollars annually. You will also be able to optimise routes for many thousands of package delivery vehicles while they are on the road (SAS, 2015). References: IBM, 2015. What Is Big Data? [Online]. Available from http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/bigdata/what-is-big-data.html [Accessed on 9/4/2015]. BBC News, 2015. Big Data! Are You Ready For Takeoff? [Online]. Available from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26383058 [Accessed on 9/4/2015]. SAS, 2015. What Is Big Data? [Online]. Available from http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html [Accessed on 9/4/2015].