Is big data the new oil?

Oil has been a major driver for the economic development around the world in the last century. Big data is probably becoming a key resource for businesses in any area in the 2010s and going forward. It will be used in a different way, but may have the same critical impact on daily business life. The raw data collected has similar to crude oil a limited usability. Like oil, raw data needs to be processed before it can be used. In fact, raw data needs to be refined or more appropriate in the case of data filtered, order or distilled. In this respect, big data represents an oil well with a great amount of information. Compiled in the right way the data allows businesses to make better decisions.

As discussed above big data may have a similar impact as oil on the world's economy The value of data is priceless when we are able to properly make use of it. Some would call it a “game changer”. Consequently, the data base may become the oil barrel of the 21st century:

We are just at the beginning of a rapid development. The opportunities that derive from the effective deployment of data are uncountable and very valuable to every type of business. From today’s perspective we are not able to conceive what will be possible in 10 years from now. Current use of big data especially for the tracking of customer information already supports marketing & sales efforts. Steven Spielberg’s movie “Minority Report”, in which face recognition is used in a scene in a shop to approach the client with a tailored offering, is only one aspect. While the movie takes place in the year 2054, this kind of application seems to become available in the next view years. However, privacy rights and face recognition seems to be an area of potential conflict. What is more important, a perfectly customized product or the privacy rights of every individual?

Follow this blog closely over the next few weeks as we will add the potential impact of big data on several industries... 

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BIG DATA - How is it changing the world around us?

What is Big Data?

Everything we do, using Facebook, watching movies on YouTube or Netflix, Chatting on Skype, Talking on Mobile, shopping online or off-line or eating at restaurant generates data at an unbelievable rate. A multitude of sensors, cameras, smartphones, laptops tablets are fueling

 this unprecedented rate of data generation. This rate of data being generated every minute has been previously unseen. These data flows can be of thousands of gigabytes, and because of the sheer size of such data, it is called the BIG DATA. In the digital world we are leaving a trail of data when we search, browse, buy, comment, like, share, blog, watch. This trail of data creates a digital foot print of each of us. A lot can be derived about us from this data trail – from the car we drive to whom we like to when we wake up in the morning.

Why is it Important?

This data has opened a window into our world. There is more and more information available about us.  Google has been collecting data on our search behavior. Google uses this data to provide relevant search results and advertisements. Similarly Facebook collects data on all the things we do (like, share or comment). It uses this data to assess the strength of the relationship with our Facebook friends. This then determines what updates appear on our page.  The size of the data provides unlimited ways in which this data can be used. However, we may feel a bit concerned about the personal privacy, but the utility of data is tremendous.

Government and companies can benefit by using this data in variety of ways to improve efficiency and productivity. For example let’s say there is lot of Twitter feed about a new product. A firm can analyze the data of these feeds and see what is the response, who is driving the response, who are the early adopters, who are excited or not so excited about this product, what kind of networks are being formed. Analyzing this data can provide useful insights and help developed new and effective solutions.

How it is being used?

Big data offers huge opportunities, for instance, in healthcare. Analyzing data about patient history, his lifestyle, health history of his or her family and close relatives can provide useful information about what health issues can arise in future. At a macro level it can be used to analyze health issues of large populations and government agencies can use big data to intervene and understand the issues better.

Another example is Netflix; it has been collecting big data on consumer movie viewing habits. It has used this big data to refine it movie recommendation algorithm. This algorithm can very accurately predict if we would like a movie or not based on our past viewing preferences.

It is clear and evident that big data is going to change our future and many more ways than we can think now. For starters we will use data from our Blog post (using Google analytics) to analyze & improve our blog.  Watch this space for more....