Umar Munir

Using Big Data for Business Decisions While many are still wondering about the significance of big data, businesses around the world have realized the potential of the data they’ve collected and are utilizing it to implement data guided decisions. Businesses collect a large amount of data (which could be in terabytes, petabytes or more). Thanks to the digital age, that data is being stored digitally for a long time. Being digital means that it can be processed, and analyzed to uncover information including hidden patterns, unknown correlations, market trends and customer preferences that can help companies make informed business decisions. With the emergence of Apache Hadoop and Spark, storing, processing and analyzing this data has become easier. According to a study by Accenture (2014), 92% of executives who are applying big data to their companies have said that they are satisfied with the results. From the same study, 89% of respondents have rated big data as “very important” or “extremely important” to their businesses, and 82% agreed that big data provides a significant source of value for their companies. 94% of executives said their companies use big data to identify new sources of revenue, 90% said their companies use it to retain and acquire customers, and 89% said that they’ve been using it to develop new products and services. However, the research also revealed that only 43% of executives from smaller companies consider big data as extremely important as compared to 67% of executives from larger companies. This means that a major portion of smaller companies haven’t tapped into the ripe benefits their data might get for them. Benefits of Big Data Around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is being generated from several channels including security cameras which capture videos, photos uploaded on Instagram and tweets generated on Twitter, etc. The amount of data is massive, what an organization does with the data is what matters. If used correctly, big data has huge potential. ● Companies can use big data to increase productivity​. For example​, ​biotechnology scientists would know which enzyme or seed escalated the growth more than others with the data they collected over time. ● Costs can be reduced magnificently if big data is utilized effectively. Big data can be analyzed to have an idea of what is working and what isn’t. Costs can be reduced from what isn’t giving enough benefit and more can be spent in the right place. ● Multiplying sales is one of the most common things big data is used for, and there is a heap of ways to do that. One of the simplest ones is to analyze sales and learn from customer behavior. If customers are buying more printed t-shirts, their number can be increased and more variety can be added, etc. multiply sales, and make consumer-friendly products, etc. Future of Big Data Big data is proving to be massively valuable for businesses of all sizes. A large number of executives from large companies are already applying big data to their businesses. The number of small companies investing in it is also increasing as decisions guided by data have shifted the trajectories of businesses. Big data is continuing to revolutionize marketing trends as the data on consumer behavior is growing every day. In a few years, we should start seeing companies of all scales investing considerable sums in big data as it influences the decision-making process of the corporate world.