Home > Resources > Articles > How Companies Are Using Big Data and Analytics

How Companies Are Using Big Data and Analytics

Aashish Yadav | April 1, 2022 | 1896 views

How Companies

“Data are becoming the new raw material of business.”

Craig Mundie, Senior Advisor to CEO, Microsoft

Currently, the most valuable asset that a company has is data. By analyzing a large quantity of data and drawing valuable insights, companies can use raw materials (data) to work more effectively. In addition, many big data analytics case studies show that data gives businesses a big advantage over their less tech-savvy competitors.

Let’s explore more about big data and analytics in this article.


Why Do the C-Level Executives Need Big Data?

Every C-level executive is on the lookout for new insights that help them keep their company viable. In recent years, the use of data analytics has become crucial for business leaders to make important decisions.

According to McKinsey & Company, companies using big data analytics extensively across all business segments see a 126% profit improvement over companies that don’t. With the use of big data analytics, these companies see 6.5 times more customer retention, 7.4 times more outperformance than competitors, and almost 19 times more profitability. Here are some top reasons why the C-suite needs big data.

Take Calculated Actions

Harvard Business Review estimated that 70% of companies don’t feel that they understand the needs of their customers well enough to recognize what initiatives will drive growth. In such cases, you already know what you need to do, i.e., leverage big data and analytics.

Big data analytics for businesses can help in recognizing customer preferences and customer segments on the basis of those preferences. C-suites in any industry can align their structure and product offerings to create value and take calculated actions.

Recognize the Data

According to Statista, data creation will increase to more than 180 zettabytes by 2025, which is a huge number. So, you can’t keep an approach of ‘gather now and sort it out later.’ With this approach to big data, you will be buried under tons of non-structured data. Start tracking the data early and capture the ones that are customer-generated and provide value to your company.

Segment Your Customer’s Experience

Analyze your present data and utilize your analytics to evaluate which characteristics a group of customers have in common and which aspects they don’t share. Segment and organize customers according to their preferences to build a clear lifecycle structure for every segment.

Biggest Concerns About Big Data Analytics

According to Concepta, 80% of C-suites think that data analytics will be a transformative force for businesses, but only 1 in 10 deliberately use it. 48% describe analytics as critical to decision-making, but only 7.4% say they use analytics to guide corporate strategy. So, what are the issues or concerns that tech-savvy C-level executives face when it comes to big data and analytics?

Integrating Data with Current Technology

"Tech inertia" usually disrupts certain businesses from evolving. Sometimes, the analytics framework businesses have in place is outdated to accommodate new techniques. According to Concepta, more than half the C-suite feel their analytics infrastructure is too rigid, and 75% say that due to inflexibility, they could not fulfill their business needs. Changing or upgrading the current technology would result in a loss of productivity.

Companies must get the appropriate tools like Oracle Data Integrator 12c, SAP Data Services, MuleSoft, etc. to handle their data integration challenges. Another option is to seek professional assistance. You may either engage seasoned specialists who are far more knowledgeable about these instruments. Another option is to hire big data consultants.

Big Data Silos

There is a lot of unstructured data that is collected by different departments within a company, which leads to big data silos. The C-suite plays a critical role in developing a strategy, ensuring all departments communicate and integrate data from various sources to get a holistic picture of their business operations.

  • Integrating your software that collects and stores data correctly is one of the most effective ways to avoid data silos
  • Make a decision to use an all-in-one tool to unify and speed up your data management
  • Spare some time to filter your outdated data

Big Data Security

Big data security is one of the most difficult tasks. Businesses are often so preoccupied with understanding, storing, and analyzing data that they overlook data security. Unsecured data repositories may become fertile grounds for malicious hackers. A data breach may cost a company up to $3.7 million.

Businesses are hiring more cybersecurity experts to protect their data. Other measures taken to secure big data include: encryption of data, data segregation, identity and access management endpoint security implementation, real-time security monitoring, and use of big data security technologies such as the IBM Guardian.


Key to Big Success from Big Data

To get the most out of your big data and overcome the associated challenges, we have listed some key pointers that make a business successful and show how companies using big data are standing out.


Have a Calculated Approach

While laying the foundation of big data and business analytics, it is important to have a calculated approach as it reduces the risk in the early stages of setting up big data analytics. So, rather than attempting to implement it all at once, businesses should focus on resources that drive value from big data.

Programmatic Integration

In an action-driven system, success demands synchronizing big data, relevant analytics, and decision-making platforms at the appropriate time. The most successful companies using big data get insights directly from the data analytics tools used by executives who can act immediately according to the insights from the data.

Focus on Building Skills

Businesses must expand the big data capabilities of current workers through training and development since data analytics talent still remains one of the major challenges. 54% of the CEOs say that their companies have already set up in-house technical training programs for their employees.

State-of-the-Art Technology

To create strong big data and analytics capabilities, you need the right tools and technologies. Unfortunately, those who don’t have access to efficient big data analytics tools like Hadoop find themselves falling behind.

Conclusion

There's no going back when it comes to technology. Business decisions and activities are now made based on the use of data, so businesses that don't learn how to use their data will soon be out of date because data is now at the heart of everything.

Businesses can align their data structures according to the requirements of their product offerings to generate value by utilizing big data and analytics. It helps to determine consumer preferences and segment consumers based on insights.

FAQ


How much data does it take to be called “Big Data”?

There is no definitive answer to this question. Based on the current market infrastructure, the minimum threshold is somewhere around 1 to 3 terabytes (TB). However, big data technologies are also suitable for smaller databases.

Do I Need to Hire a Data Scientist?

The decision to hire a data scientist for your company is often a difficult one, and it depends entirely on your business's position. While there has been a huge demand for data scientists over the last few years, they are not easily available. Many businesses just use the support of a data architect or analyst.

How are big data and Hadoop related to each other?

Hadoop and big data are almost synonymous. Hadoop is a framework that specializes in big data processing that has grown in popularity with the advent of big data. Professionals may use the framework to analyze large amounts of data and assist companies with better decision-making.

Spotlight

Mtell

Founded in 2006, Mtell is a privately held company providing software solutions for managing the health of industrial equipment. Making machines smart, Mtell is the pioneer of machine learning for industrial maintenance and plays an important role in developing the industrial internet. Mtell-enabled machines know what’s normal and what’s not. They sense early warning of failures in minuscule patterns that humans cannot detect, and then they directly ask for inspection or precise maintenance well before a machine breakdown.

OTHER ARTICLES
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, BIG DATA

Predictive Maintenance with Industrial Big Data: Reactive to Proactive Strategies

Article | May 15, 2023

Explore the benefits of using industrial big data for predictive maintenance strategies. Learn how businesses can shift from reactive to proactive maintenance approaches and optimize operations with the power of predictive analytics. Contents 1 Importance of Predictive Maintenance 2 Challenges of Traditional Reactive Maintenance for Enterprises 3 Emergence of Proactive Strategies for Predictive Maintenance 4 Reactive vs. Proactive Strategies 5 Industrial Big Data Analytics for Predictive Maintenance: Importance and Applications 6 Navigating Implementation Challenges 6.1 Overcoming Data Collection and Pre-processing Challenges 6.2 Addressing Data Integration Challenges 6.3 Model Selection and Implementation Solutions 6.4 Staffing and Training Solutions 7 Leverage Predictive Maintenance for Optimal Operations 8 Final Thoughts 1. Importance of Predictive Maintenance Predictive maintenance (PdM) is a proactive maintenance approach that employs advanced downtime tracking software to evaluate data and predict when maintenance on equipment should be conducted. With PdM constantly monitoring equipment performance and health using sensors, maintenance teams can be alerted when equipment is nearing a breakdown, allowing them to take mitigation measures before any unscheduled downtime occurs. The global predictive maintenance market is expected to expand at a 25.5% CAGR to reach USD 23 billion in 2025 during the forecast period. (Market Research Future) Organizations often prefer PdM as a maintenance management method as it reduces costs with an upfront investment compared to preventive and reactive maintenance. Furthermore, maintenance has become crucial to ensuring smooth system functioning in today's complex industrial environment. Therefore, predictive maintenance is an essential strategy for industrial organizations, as it improves safety and productivity and reduces costs. As industrial equipment becomes more automated and diagnostic tools become more advanced and affordable, more and more plants are taking a proactive approach to maintenance. The immediate goal is to identify and fix problems before they result in a breakdown, while the long-term goal is to reduce unexpected outages and extend asset life. Plants that implement predictive maintenance processes see a 30% increase in equipment mean time between failures (MTBF), on average. This means your equipment is 30% more reliable and 30% more likely to meet performance standards with a predictive maintenance strategy. (Source: FMX) 2. Challenges of Traditional Reactive Maintenance for Enterprises The waning popularity of reactive maintenance is attributed to several inherent limitations, such as exorbitant costs and a heightened likelihood of equipment failure and safety hazards. At the same time, the pursuit of maintaining industrial plants at maximum efficiency with minimal unplanned downtime is an indispensable objective for all maintenance teams. However, the traditional reactive approach, which involves repairing equipment only when it malfunctions, can result in substantial expenses associated with equipment downtime, product waste, and increased equipment replacement and labor costs. To overcome these challenges, organizations can move towards proactive maintenance strategies, which leverage advanced downtime tracking software to anticipate maintenance needs and forestall potential breakdowns. 3. Emergence of Proactive Strategies for Predictive Maintenance The constraints of reactive maintenance have instigated the emergence of proactive approaches, including predictive analytics. It employs real-time data gathered from equipment to predict maintenance needs and employs algorithms to recognize potential issues before they result in debilitating breakdowns. The data collected through sensors and analytics facilitates the establishment of a more thorough and precise assessment of the general well-being of the operation. With such proactive strategies, organizations can: Arrange maintenance undertakings in advance, Curtail downtime, Cut expenses, and Augment equipment reliability and safety 4. Reactive vs. Proactive Strategies As of 2020, 76% of the respondents in the manufacturing sector reported following a proactive maintenance strategy, while 56% used reactive maintenance (run-to-failure). (Source: Statista) Proactive maintenance strategies, such as predictive maintenance, offer many benefits over reactive maintenance, which can be costly and time-consuming. By collecting baseline data and analyzing trends, proactive maintenance strategies can help organizations perform maintenance only when necessary, based on real-world information. However, establishing a proactive maintenance program can be challenging, as limited maintenance resources must be directed to address the most critical equipment failures. Analyzing data from both healthy and faulty equipment can help organizations determine which failures pose the biggest risk to their operation. A proactive maintenance approach may assist in avoiding the fundamental causes of machine failure, addressing issues before they trigger failure, and extending machine life, making it a crucial strategy for any industrial operation. 5. Industrial Big Data Analytics for Predictive Maintenance: Importance and Applications Big data analytics is a key enabler of predictive maintenance strategies. Its capability to process vast amounts of data provides valuable insights into equipment health and performance, making predictive maintenance possible. With their wide-ranging applications, industrial big data analytics tools can predict maintenance needs, optimize schedules, and detect potential problems before they escalate into significant problems. It can also monitor equipment performance, identify areas for improvement, and refine processes to increase equipment reliability and safety. Industrial big data is indispensable in realizing the shift from reactive to proactive predictive maintenance, which is accomplished through the optimal utilization of available datasets. Industrial big data can glean insights into equipment condition, including patterns of maintenance that may not be readily apparent. Moreover, it has the capacity to attain actionable intelligence capable of effecting a closed loop back to the plant floor. Integration of big data technologies with industrial automation is key to this accomplishment. Nevertheless, this transition will necessitate investment in supplementary assets, such as new maintenance processes and employee training. 6. Navigating Implementation Challenges 6.1 Overcoming Data Collection and Pre-processing Challenges One of the primary challenges in implementing industrial big data analytics for predictive maintenance is the collection and pre-processing of data. The voluminous industrial data, which comes in various formats and from multiple sources, makes it necessary for organizations to develop robust data collection and pre-processing strategies to ensure data accuracy and integrity. To achieve this, organizations need to establish sensor and data collection systems and ensure that the data undergoes appropriate cleaning, formatting, and pre-processing to obtain accurate and meaningful results. 6.2 Addressing Data Integration Challenges Integrating data from heterogeneous sources is a daunting challenge that organizations must overcome when implementing industrial big data analytics for predictive maintenance. It involves processing multiple datasets from different sensors and maintenance detection modalities, such as vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermal imaging, and acoustics. While utilizing data from various sources leads to more stable and accurate predictions, it requires additional investments in sensors and data collection, which is generally very hard to achieve in most maintenance systems. A well-crafted data architecture is critical to managing the copious amounts of data that come from different sources, including various equipment, sensors, and systems. Organizations must devise a comprehensive data integration strategy that incorporates relevant data sources to ensure data integrity and completeness. 6.3 Model Selection and Implementation Solutions Selecting appropriate predictive models and implementing them effectively is another significant challenge. To overcome this, organizations need to have an in-depth understanding of the various models available, their strengths and limitations, and their applicability to specific maintenance tasks. They must also possess the necessary expertise to implement the models and seamlessly integrate them into their existing maintenance workflows to achieve timely and accurate results. Furthermore, it is crucial to align the selected models with the organization's business objectives and ensure their ability to deliver the desired outcomes. 6.4 Staffing and Training Solutions In order to ensure successful implementation, organizations must allocate resources toward staffing and training solutions. This entails hiring proficient data scientists and analysts and then providing them with continual training and professional development opportunities. Moreover, it is imperative to have personnel with the requisite technical expertise to manage and maintain the system. Equally crucial is providing training to employees on the system's usage and equipping them with the necessary skills to interpret and analyze data. 7. Leverage Predictive Maintenance for Optimal Operations Predictive maintenance is widely acknowledged among plant operators as the quintessential maintenance vision due to its manifold advantages, such as higher overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) owing to a reduced frequency of repairs. Furthermore, predictive maintenance data analytics facilitate cost savings by enabling optimal scheduling of repairs and minimizing planned downtimes. It also enhances employees' productivity by providing valuable insights on the appropriate time for component replacement. Additionally, timely monitoring and addressing potential problems can augment workplace safety, which is paramount for ensuring employee well-being. In a survey of 500 plants that implemented a predictive maintenance program, there was an average increase in equipment availability of 30%. Simply implementing predictive maintenance will ensure your equipment is running when you need it to run. (Source: FMX) By synchronizing real-time equipment data with the maintenance management system, organizations can proactively prevent equipment breakdowns. Successful implementation of predictive maintenance data analytic strategies can substantially reduce the time and effort spent on maintaining equipment, as well as the consumption of spare parts and supplies for unplanned maintenance. Consequently, there will be fewer instances of breakdowns and equipment failures, ultimately leading to significant cost savings. On average, predictive maintenance reduced normal operating costs by 50%. (Source: FMX) 8. Final Thoughts Traditional reactive maintenance approaches need to be revised in today's industrial landscape. Proactive strategies, such as predictive maintenance, are necessary to maintain equipment health and performance. Real-time predictive maintenance using big data collected from equipment can help prevent costly downtime, waste, equipment replacement, and labor expenses, thus enhancing safety and productivity. The shift from reactive to proactive maintenance is crucial for organizations, and industrial big data analytics is vital for realizing this transition. Although big data analytics applications for predictive maintenance pose challenges, they can be overcome with the right measures. Ultimately, the effective implementation of big data analytics solutions is a vital enabler of big data predictive maintenance strategies and an essential tool for any industrial plant seeking to optimize its maintenance approach. By embracing predictive maintenance strategies and leveraging the power of industrial big data and analytics, organizations can ensure the longevity and reliability of their equipment, enhancing productivity and profitability.

Read More
BIG DATA MANAGEMENT

Implementing Big Data and AI: Best Practices and Strategies for 2023

Article | July 11, 2022

Discover the latest strategies and best practices for implementing big data and AI into your organization for 2023. Gain insights on leading Big Data and AI solution providers to drive business growth. Contents 1 Establishing a Relationship between Big Data and AI 2 Importance of Big Data and AI in 2023 3 Key Challenges in Implementing Big Data and AI 4 Best Practices and Strategies for Big Data and AI Implementation 4.1 Building a Data Strategy 4.2 Implementing a Data Governance Framework 4.3 Leveraging Cloud Computing 4.4 Developing a Data Science and AI Roadmap 4.5 Leveraging Established Agile Methodologies 4.6 Prototyping Through Sandboxing 5 Top AI and Big Data Companies to Look For in 2023 6 Conclusion 1. Establishing a Relationship between Big Data and AI The relationship between AI and big data is mutually beneficial, as AI requires vast amounts of data to enhance its decision-making abilities, while big data analytics benefits from AI for superior analysis. This union enables the implementation of advanced analytics, such as predictive analysis, resulting in the optimization of business efficiency by anticipating emerging trends, scrutinizing consumer behavior, automating customer segmentation, customizing digital campaigns, and utilizing decision support systems propelled by big data, AI, and predictive analytics. This integration empowers organizations to become data-driven, resulting in significant improvements in business performance. 2. Importance of Big Data and AI in 2023 In the year 2023, it is anticipated that the utilization of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) will profoundly impact diverse industries. The investment in big data analytics will be primarily driven by the need for data compliance, security, and mobilization, ultimately aiming to achieve real-time analysis. Therefore, businesses seeking to excel in this area must be prepared to adopt cloud technology and make significant advancements in computing power and data processing methods. Recent research indicates that a combination of AI and big data can automate nearly 80% of all physical work, 70% of data processing work, and 64% of data collection tasks. (Source: Forbes) The banking, retail, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and government sectors have already made substantial investments in big data analytics, which have resulted in the forecasting of trends, enhancing business recommendations, and increasing profits. In addition, AI technology will make significant advancements in 2023, including democratization, making it accessible to a broader user population. This shift will enable customers to wield authority, and businesses will be able to use AI to better meet their specific and individualized business requirements. Finally, a significant shift likely to be witnessed in the AI field in 2023 is the move to a more industrialized, embedded type of architecture, where actual business users may begin utilizing algorithms. According to a recent study, 61% of respondents believe that AI will have a significant impact on their industry within the next three to five years. (Source: Deloitte Insights Report) 3. Key Challenges in Implementing Big Data and AI 97.2% of business executives say their organizations are investing in big data and AI projects. These executives cite their desire to become “nimble, data-driven businesses” as the reason for these investments, as 54.4% say that their companies’ inability to do this was the biggest threat they faced. In addition, 79.4% say they’re afraid that other, more data-driven companies will disrupt and outperform them. (Source: Zippia) Implementing big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) presents various challenges that businesses must tackle to realize their full potential. One such obstacle is the intricate nature of the data, which could be either structured or unstructured and necessitate specialized tools and techniques for processing and analysis. Moreover, companies must ensure data quality, completeness, and integrity to facilitate accurate analysis and decision-making. Another substantial challenge in implementing big data and AI is the requirement for skilled personnel with expertise in data science, machine learning, and related technologies. To stay up-to-date on the latest tools and techniques, companies must invest in ongoing training and development programs for their employees. Ethical and legal concerns surrounding data privacy, security, and transparency must also be addressed, especially after recent data breaches and privacy scandals. Integrating big data and AI into existing IT systems can be a challenging and time-consuming process that necessitates careful planning and coordination to ensure smooth integration and minimize disruption. Lastly, the high cost of implementing these technologies can be a significant barrier, especially for smaller businesses or those with limited IT budgets. To overcome these challenges, companies must be strategic, prioritize use cases, and develop a clear implementation roadmap while leveraging third-party tools and services to minimize costs and maximize ROI. 4. Best Practices and Strategies for Big Data and AI Implementation 24% of companies use big data analytics. While 97.2% of companies say they’re investing in big data and AI projects, just 24% describe their organizations as data-driven. (Source: Zippia) 4.1 Building a Data Strategy One of the biggest challenges in building a data strategy is identifying the most relevant data sources and data types for the organization’s specific business objectives. The sheer volume and diversity of data available can further complicate this. The key to addressing this challenge is thoroughly assessing the organization’s data assets and prioritizing them based on their business value. This involves: Identifying the key business objectives and Determining which data sources and data types are most relevant to achieving those objectives 4.2 Implementing a Data Governance Framework Establishing a data governance framework involving all stakeholders is crucial for ensuring agreement on data quality, privacy, and security standards. However, implementing such a framework can be daunting due to the divergent priorities and perspectives of stakeholders on good data governance. So, to overcome this challenge, clear guidelines and processes must be established: Creating a data governance council Defining roles and responsibilities Involving all stakeholders in the development and implementation of guidelines Data quality management, privacy, and security processes should be established to maintain high data governance standards Organizations can improve the effectiveness of their data governance initiatives by aligning all stakeholders and ensuring their commitment to maintaining optimal data governance standards. 4.3 Leveraging Cloud Computing It is essential to carefully select a cloud provider that aligns with the organization's security and compliance requirements. In addition, robust data security and compliance controls should be implemented: Establishing data encryption and access controls Implementing data backup and recovery procedures Regularly conducting security and compliance audits By following these practices, organizations can ensure their big data and AI projects are secure and compliant. 4.4 Developing a Data Science and AI Roadmap The obstacles to developing a data science and AI roadmap lie in identifying the most pertinent use cases that cater to the specific business objectives of an organization. This difficulty is further compounded by the potential divergence of priorities and perspectives among various stakeholders concerning the definition of a successful use case. Hence, it is imperative to establish unambiguous guidelines for identifying and prioritizing use cases that align with their respective business values. This entails: Identifying the key business objectives Carefully ascertaining which use cases are most pertinent to realizing those objectives Meticulously delineating the success criteria for each use case 4.5 Leveraging Established Agile Methodologies Leveraging well-established agile methodologies is critical in successfully implementing large-scale big data and AI projects. By defining a precise project scope and goals, prioritizing tasks, and fostering consistent communication and collaboration, enterprises can effectively execute AI and big data analytics initiatives leveraging agile methodologies Such an approach provides teams with a clear understanding of their responsibilities, facilitates seamless communication, and promotes continuous improvement throughout the project lifecycle, resulting in a more efficient and effective implementation 4.6 Prototyping Through Sandboxing Establishing clear guidelines and processes is crucial to overcome the challenge of creating prototypes through sandboxing that are representative of the production environment and can meet the organization's requirements. It includes: Defining the scope and objectives of the prototype, Meticulously selecting the appropriate tools and technologies Guaranteeing that the prototype is an authentic reflection of the production environment Additionally, conducting thorough testing and evaluation is necessary to ensure that the prototype can be scaled effectively to meet the organization's needs. 5. Top AI and Big Data Companies to Look For in 2023 H2O.ai H2O.ai is a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) software. It provides a platform for businesses to use artificial intelligence and data-driven insights to drive innovation and growth. The software offers a suite of tools and algorithms to help users build predictive models, analyze data, and gain insights that inform business decisions. With a user-friendly interface and a robust set of features, H2O.ai is a valuable tool for businesses looking to leverage the power of machine learning to stay ahead of the competition. ThoughtSpot ThoughtSpot is a leading search and AI-driven analytics platform that enables businesses to quickly and easily analyze complex data sets. The platform offers a range of features, including advanced analytics, customizable visualizations, and collaborative capabilities. It is designed to make data analytics accessible to anyone within an organization, regardless of technical expertise. The platform is also highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor it to meet their specific needs and integrate it with their existing data infrastructure. Treasure Data Treasure Data is a cloud-based enterprise data management platform that helps businesses collect, store, and analyze their data to gain valuable insights. Its platform includes a suite of powerful tools for data collection, storage, processing, and analysis, including a flexible data pipeline, a powerful data management console, and a range of analytics tools. The platform is also highly scalable, capable of handling massive amounts of data and processing millions of events per second, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes and industries. Denodo Denodo is a leading data virtualization software company that provides a unified platform for integrating and delivering data across multiple sources and formats in real time. The platform offers unmatched performance and unified access to a broad range of enterprise, big data, cloud, and unstructured sources. It also provides agile data service provisioning and governance at less than half the cost of traditional data integration. In addition, its data virtualization technology simplifies the complexity of data sources and creates a virtual layer of data services accessible to any application or user, regardless of the data’s location or format. Pendo.io Pendo.io is a leading cloud-based platform that provides product analytics, user feedback, and guidance for digital products. It allows businesses to make data-driven decisions about their products and optimize their customer journey. The platform empowers companies to transform product intelligence into actionable insights rapidly and at scale, enabling a new generation of businesses that prioritize product development. TigerGraph TigerGraph is a graph database and analytics platform that allows businesses to gain deeper insights and make better decisions by analyzing connected data. It is designed to handle complex data sets and perform advanced graph analytics at scale. The platform offers a range of graph analytics algorithms that can be applied to a variety of use cases, including fraud detection, recommendation engines, supply chain optimization, and social network analysis. Solix Technologies, Inc. Solix Technologies, Inc. is a leading big data management and analysis software solution provider that empowers data-driven enterprises to achieve their Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) goals. Its flagship product, Solix Big Data Suite, provides an ILM framework for Enterprise Archiving and Enterprise Data Lake applications utilizing Apache Hadoop as an enterprise data repository. In addition, the Solix Enterprise Data Management Suite (Solix EDMS) helps organizations implement database archiving, test data management, data masking and application retirement across all enterprise data. Reltio Reltio is a leading provider of cloud-based master data management (MDM) solutions that enable organizations to create a unified view of their data across all sources and formats. The platform combines MDM with big data analytics and machine learning to provide a single source of truth for data-driven decision-making. The solution offers a range of features, including data modeling, data quality management, data governance, and data analytics. dbt Labs dbt Labs is a cloud-based data transformation software platform that helps analysts and engineers manage the entire analytics engineering workflow, from data ingestion to analysis. The platform enables users to transform and model raw data into analysis-ready data sets using a SQL-based language. With its modular and scalable approach, dbt Labs makes it easier for data teams to collaborate and manage their data pipelines. Rockset Rockset is a real-time indexing database platform that allows businesses to run fast queries on data from multiple sources without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure. It supports various data types, including structured, semi-structured, and nested data, making it flexible and versatile. In addition, the serverless platform is built on a cloud-native architecture, making it easy to scale up or down as needed. With Rockset, users can build real-time applications and dashboards, perform ad hoc analysis, and create data-driven workflows. 6. Conclusion The relationship between big data and AI is mutually beneficial, given the fact that AI requires copious amounts of data to refine its decision-making capabilities, while big data analytics derives immense value from AI for advanced analysis. As a result, the integration of big data analytics and AI is projected to profoundly impact diverse industries in 2023. Nevertheless, adopting these technologies poses multifarious challenges, necessitating businesses to adopt a strategic approach and develop a comprehensive implementation roadmap to optimize ROI and minimize expenses. Ultimately, the successful implementation of big data and AI strategies can enable organizations to become data-driven, culminating in substantial improvements in business performance.

Read More
BIG DATA MANAGEMENT

Big Data in Healthcare: Improving Patient Outcomes

Article | July 12, 2022

Explore the impact of big data on the healthcare industry and how it is being used to improve patient outcomes. Discover how big data is being leveraged to enhance overall healthcare delivery. Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Role of Big Data in Healthcare 1.2 The Importance of Patient Outcomes 2. How Big Data Improves Patient Outcomes 2.1 Personalized Medicine and Treatment Plans 2.2 Early Disease Detection and Prevention 2.3 Improved Patient Safety and Reduced Medical Errors 3. Challenges and Considerations While Using Big Data in Healthcare 4. Final thoughts 1. Introduction In today's constantly evolving healthcare industry, the significance of big data cannot be overstated. Its multifaceted nature makes it a valuable asset to healthcare providers in their efforts to enhance patient outcomes and reduce business costs. When harnessed effectively, big data in healthcare provides companies with the insights they need to personalize healthcare, streamline customer service processes, and improve their practices for interacting with patients. This results in a more tailored and thorough experience for customers, ultimately leading to better care. 1.1 Role of Big Data in Healthcare Big data pertains to vast collections of structured and unstructured data in the healthcare industry. One of the primary sources of big data in healthcare is electronic health records (EHRs), which contain: Patient’s medical history Demographics Medications Test results Analyzing this data can: Facilitate informed decision-making Improve patient outcomes Reduce healthcare costs Integrating structured and unstructured data can add significant value to healthcare organizations, and Big Data Analytics (BDA) is the tool used to extract information from big data. Big Data Analytics (BDA) can extract information and create trends, and in healthcare, it can identify clusters, correlations, and predictive models from large datasets. However, privacy and security concerns and ensuring data accuracy and reliability are significant challenges that must be addressed. 1.2 The Importance of Patient Outcomes Patient outcomes are the consequences of healthcare interventions or treatments on a patient's health status and are essential in evaluating healthcare systems and guiding healthcare decision-making. However, the current healthcare system's focus on volume rather than value has led to fragmented payment and delivery systems that fall short in terms of quality, outcomes, costs, and equity. To overcome these shortcomings, a learning healthcare system is necessary to continuously apply knowledge for improved patient outcomes and affordability. However, access to timely guidance is limited, and organizational and technological limitations pose significant challenges in measuring patient-centered outcomes. 2. How Big Data Improves Patient Outcomes Big data in healthcare engenders a substantial impact by facilitating the delivery of treatment that is both efficient and effective. This innovative approach to healthcare enables the identification of high-risk patients, prediction of disease outbreaks, management of hospital performance, and improvement of treatment effectiveness. Thanks to modern technology, the collection of electronic data is now a seamless process, thus empowering healthcare professionals to create data-driven solutions to improve patient outcomes. 2.1 Personalized Medicine and Treatment Plans Big data can revolutionize personalized medicine and treatment plans by analyzing vast patient data to create tailored treatment plans for each patient, resulting in better outcomes, fewer side effects, and faster recovery times. 2.2 Early Disease Detection and Prevention Big data analytics in healthcare allow for early interventions and treatments by identifying patterns and trends that indicate disease onset. This improves patient outcomes and reduces healthcare costs. Real-time patient data monitoring and predictive analytics enable timely action to prevent complications. 2.3 Improved Patient Safety and Reduced Medical Errors Big data analytics can help healthcare providers identify safety risks like medication errors, misdiagnoses, and adverse reactions, improving patient safety and reducing medical errors. This can lead to cost savings and better patient outcomes. 3. Challenges and Considerations While Using Big Data in Healthcare In order to maximize the potential advantages, organizations must address significant challenges of big data in healthcare, like privacy and security concerns, data accuracy and reliability, and expertise and technology requirements. Safeguards like encryption, access controls, and data de-identification can mitigate privacy and security risks Ensuring data accuracy and reliability requires standardized data collection, cleaning, and validation procedures Additionally, healthcare organizations must prioritize the recruitment of qualified professionals with expertise in data management, and analysis is crucial The adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning can support effective analysis and interpretation of big data in healthcare 4. Final Thoughts The impact of big data on healthcare is profound, and the healthcare sector possesses the possibility of a paradigm shift by leveraging the potential of big data to augment patient outcomes and curtail costs. Nevertheless, implementing big data entails formidable challenges that necessitate their resolution to fully unleash healthcare data technology's benefits. Notably, handling voluminous and heterogeneous datasets in real time requires state-of-the-art technological solutions. To attain the maximal benefits of big data in healthcare, organizations must proactively address these challenges by implementing risk-mitigating measures and fully capitalizing on big data's potential.

Read More
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, DATA SCIENCE

Navigating Big Data Integration: Challenges and Strategies

Article | April 13, 2023

Explore the complexities of integrating Big Data into your organization. Learn effective strategies for overcoming challenges to optimize your data integration process and maximize business outcomes. Contents 1 Introduction 2 Challenges in Big Data Integration 2.1 Data Volume, Velocity, and Variety Challenges 2.2 Integration with Legacy Systems and Data Silos 2.3 Technical Challenges 2.4 Organizational Challenges 3 Overcoming Integration Challenges: Strategies 3.1 Conducting Thorough Analysis of Data Infrastructure 3.2 Prioritizing Projects Based On Business Needs 3.3 Implementing Scalable and Flexible Solutions 3.4 Establishing Robust Data Governance Practices 4 Conclusion 1. Introduction Big data integration is a critical component of effective data management for organizations of all sizes. While some CIOs may believe that consolidating legacy data sources into a single platform can solve integration challenges, the reality is often more complex. Data is vast and usually spread across multiple sources, making integration a daunting task. Nearly 25% of businesses struggle with integrating new applications with their old systems. That’s because legacy system integration isn’t always easy to achieve. (Source: Gartner) Thus, to tackle big data integration effectively, it's essential to understand how it fits into the organization's overall data management strategy and determine the policies governing the integration process. In addition, there are several technical challenges involved in data integration, including ensuring all components work well together, reflecting trends in big data analytics, and finding skilled big data engineers and analysts. 2. Challenges in Big Data Integration 2.1 Data Volume, Velocity, and Variety Challenges In order to effectively integrate big data, companies must address the three key components of volume, variety, and velocity. Coordinating and managing massive amounts of data is both logistically challenging and costly, especially with large volumes. Working with multiple data sources is also a major hurdle that necessitates advanced analytics resources and expertise. Large datasets can take weeks to process, making real-time data analytics an arduous task. This becomes particularly challenging when dealing with intricate and extensive datasets, where velocity poses a significant obstacle. Attempting to apply a uniform analytical process to all data sets may be impractical, further impeding progress. 2.2 Integration with Legacy Systems and Data Silos According to a report, 25% of organizations have more than 50 unique data silos, and these prevent companies from harnessing their data for their business. (Source: 451 Research) The integration of legacy systems presents a significant challenge for companies, as it entails various difficulties, such as high maintenance costs, data silos, compliance issues, weaker data security, and a lack of integration with new systems. The maintenance of legacy systems is both expensive and futile, leaving a company with outdated technology and a tarnished reputation due to potential breaches. Furthermore, legacy systems may fail to meet evolving compliance regulations such as GDPR and lack appropriate data security measures. Over time, data silos can develop due to organizational structures and company culture, leading to difficulties in achieving effective data integration. Siloed data obstructs departments from accessing the full benefits of new systems, impeding technological growth within a company. Additionally, legacy systems may not be compatible with new systems, causing further communication issues. 2.3 Technical Challenges Selecting the Right Big Data Integration Tools Choosing the right tools, technologies and big data integration services is crucial to meet specific business needs. It can be challenging to keep up with the constantly evolving technology landscape, making it important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations. The decision-making process should involve a thorough evaluation of existing tools and technologies to determine their effectiveness and relevance to the integration process. Failure to choose the appropriate tools and technologies can lead to inefficiencies, longer processing times, and increased costs. Ensuring Different Systems and Data Formats Compatibility It is estimated that around 85% of big data projects will fail to meet all their objectives, illustrating the scale of the challenge that businesses face when trying to get a handle on complex and disparate data from across the enterprise. (Source: Gartner) In integrating big data, it is common to have different systems and data formats that need to be integrated. Ensuring compatibility between these different systems and data formats can be a challenge. A solution-based approach to this challenge is to use data integration platforms that provide support for a wide range of data formats and systems. This ensures that the integration process is seamless and efficient. Addressing Issues of Data Quality and Completeness To integrate big data successfully, it's essential to address issues related to data quality and completeness. Only accurate or complete data can lead to correct insights and precise decision-making, which can benefit businesses. Developing comprehensive data quality management strategies that include data profiling, cleansing, and validation is necessary to overcome this challenge. These strategies ensure that the data being integrated is accurate and complete, leading to better actionable insights and business intelligence. 2.4 Organizational Challenges Developing Comprehensive Integration Strategy Developing a clear and comprehensive integration strategy for big data can be challenging, but it is essential for success. The developed strategy should clearly outline the business objectives and the scope of the integration effort as well as identify the key stakeholders involved. Additionally, it should define the technical requirements and resources necessary to support the integration effort. Building Cross-Functional Teams to Support Integration Efforts Building cross-functional teams for successful data integration can be challenging due to identifying the right individuals with diverse skill sets and navigating complex technical environments. However, it is crucial to form teams comprising members from various departments, including IT, data science, and administration, who collaborate to identify business needs, devise an integration strategy, and implement integration solutions. Building such teams promotes effective communication and coordination across departments and stakeholders, enabling organizations to leverage data assets effectively. 3. Overcoming Integration Challenges: Strategies 3.1 Conducting Thorough Analysis of Data Infrastructure Conducting a thorough analysis of existing data infrastructure and systems is the first step in any data integration effort. This analysis should identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing infrastructure and systems. This information can be used to develop a comprehensive integration strategy that addresses existing challenges and identifies opportunities for improvement. 3.2 Prioritizing Projects Based On Business Needs It is crucial to prioritize, and sequence integration projects based on business needs to leverage the benefits of data integration. This approach ensures that resources are allocated appropriately and the most critical projects are addressed first. Conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis is an effective way to determine the value and impact of each project to prioritize and plan accordingly. 3.3 Implementing Scalable and Flexible Solutions In orderto accommodate the ever-increasing amount of data and evolving business requirements, it is essential to implement scalable and flexible integration solutions. This approach ensures that the integration process remains efficient and can adapt to changing needs. Modern data integration platforms that support cloud-based solutions, real-time data processing, and flexible data models can be adopted to achieve this. 3.4 Establishing Robust Data Governance Practices Establishing robust data governance practices ensures data is managed effectively throughout the integration process. This involves defining clear policies, procedures, and standards for data management across the entire data lifecycle, from acquisition to disposition. Additionally, data quality and security controls should be implemented, and employees must be trained on data governance best practices. Organizations can effectively manage data by establishing these practices throughout the integration process. It includes defining data ownership, establishing policies, and implementing quality controls. Ultimately, this approach ensures that data is accurate, complete, and reliable and that the organization is compliant with any relevant regulations or standards. 4. Conclusion Integrating big data represents a formidable obstacle for many organizations, yet with the proper strategies in place, these challenges can be surmounted, enabling businesses to unleash the full potential of their data assets. It is paramount that organizations possess a comprehensive and lucid understanding of both the technical and organizational challenges inherent in integrating big data. Businesses must prioritize data integration and processing initiatives based on their commercial requirements, employ scalable and flexible solutions, and establish robust data governance practices. By doing so, they can acquire invaluable insights that drive business growth and innovation, improve operational efficiency, and enhance their competitiveness in the market.

Read More
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, BIG DATA

Harnessing the Power of Big Data: Events to attend in 2023

Article | May 15, 2023

Explore the benefits of using industrial big data for predictive maintenance strategies. Learn how businesses can shift from reactive to proactive maintenance approaches and optimize operations with the power of predictive analytics. Contents 1 Importance of Predictive Maintenance 2 Challenges of Traditional Reactive Maintenance for Enterprises 3 Emergence of Proactive Strategies for Predictive Maintenance 4 Reactive vs. Proactive Strategies 5 Industrial Big Data Analytics for Predictive Maintenance: Importance and Applications 6 Navigating Implementation Challenges 6.1 Overcoming Data Collection and Pre-processing Challenges 6.2 Addressing Data Integration Challenges 6.3 Model Selection and Implementation Solutions 6.4 Staffing and Training Solutions 7 Leverage Predictive Maintenance for Optimal Operations 8 Final Thoughts 1. Importance of Predictive Maintenance Predictive maintenance (PdM) is a proactive maintenance approach that employs advanced downtime tracking software to evaluate data and predict when maintenance on equipment should be conducted. With PdM constantly monitoring equipment performance and health using sensors, maintenance teams can be alerted when equipment is nearing a breakdown, allowing them to take mitigation measures before any unscheduled downtime occurs. The global predictive maintenance market is expected to expand at a 25.5% CAGR to reach USD 23 billion in 2025 during the forecast period. (Market Research Future) Organizations often prefer PdM as a maintenance management method as it reduces costs with an upfront investment compared to preventive and reactive maintenance. Furthermore, maintenance has become crucial to ensuring smooth system functioning in today's complex industrial environment. Therefore, predictive maintenance is an essential strategy for industrial organizations, as it improves safety and productivity and reduces costs. As industrial equipment becomes more automated and diagnostic tools become more advanced and affordable, more and more plants are taking a proactive approach to maintenance. The immediate goal is to identify and fix problems before they result in a breakdown, while the long-term goal is to reduce unexpected outages and extend asset life. Plants that implement predictive maintenance processes see a 30% increase in equipment mean time between failures (MTBF), on average. This means your equipment is 30% more reliable and 30% more likely to meet performance standards with a predictive maintenance strategy. (Source: FMX) 2. Challenges of Traditional Reactive Maintenance for Enterprises The waning popularity of reactive maintenance is attributed to several inherent limitations, such as exorbitant costs and a heightened likelihood of equipment failure and safety hazards. At the same time, the pursuit of maintaining industrial plants at maximum efficiency with minimal unplanned downtime is an indispensable objective for all maintenance teams. However, the traditional reactive approach, which involves repairing equipment only when it malfunctions, can result in substantial expenses associated with equipment downtime, product waste, and increased equipment replacement and labor costs. To overcome these challenges, organizations can move towards proactive maintenance strategies, which leverage advanced downtime tracking software to anticipate maintenance needs and forestall potential breakdowns. 3. Emergence of Proactive Strategies for Predictive Maintenance The constraints of reactive maintenance have instigated the emergence of proactive approaches, including predictive analytics. It employs real-time data gathered from equipment to predict maintenance needs and employs algorithms to recognize potential issues before they result in debilitating breakdowns. The data collected through sensors and analytics facilitates the establishment of a more thorough and precise assessment of the general well-being of the operation. With such proactive strategies, organizations can: Arrange maintenance undertakings in advance, Curtail downtime, Cut expenses, and Augment equipment reliability and safety 4. Reactive vs. Proactive Strategies As of 2020, 76% of the respondents in the manufacturing sector reported following a proactive maintenance strategy, while 56% used reactive maintenance (run-to-failure). (Source: Statista) Proactive maintenance strategies, such as predictive maintenance, offer many benefits over reactive maintenance, which can be costly and time-consuming. By collecting baseline data and analyzing trends, proactive maintenance strategies can help organizations perform maintenance only when necessary, based on real-world information. However, establishing a proactive maintenance program can be challenging, as limited maintenance resources must be directed to address the most critical equipment failures. Analyzing data from both healthy and faulty equipment can help organizations determine which failures pose the biggest risk to their operation. A proactive maintenance approach may assist in avoiding the fundamental causes of machine failure, addressing issues before they trigger failure, and extending machine life, making it a crucial strategy for any industrial operation. 5. Industrial Big Data Analytics for Predictive Maintenance: Importance and Applications Big data analytics is a key enabler of predictive maintenance strategies. Its capability to process vast amounts of data provides valuable insights into equipment health and performance, making predictive maintenance possible. With their wide-ranging applications, industrial big data analytics tools can predict maintenance needs, optimize schedules, and detect potential problems before they escalate into significant problems. It can also monitor equipment performance, identify areas for improvement, and refine processes to increase equipment reliability and safety. Industrial big data is indispensable in realizing the shift from reactive to proactive predictive maintenance, which is accomplished through the optimal utilization of available datasets. Industrial big data can glean insights into equipment condition, including patterns of maintenance that may not be readily apparent. Moreover, it has the capacity to attain actionable intelligence capable of effecting a closed loop back to the plant floor. Integration of big data technologies with industrial automation is key to this accomplishment. Nevertheless, this transition will necessitate investment in supplementary assets, such as new maintenance processes and employee training. 6. Navigating Implementation Challenges 6.1 Overcoming Data Collection and Pre-processing Challenges One of the primary challenges in implementing industrial big data analytics for predictive maintenance is the collection and pre-processing of data. The voluminous industrial data, which comes in various formats and from multiple sources, makes it necessary for organizations to develop robust data collection and pre-processing strategies to ensure data accuracy and integrity. To achieve this, organizations need to establish sensor and data collection systems and ensure that the data undergoes appropriate cleaning, formatting, and pre-processing to obtain accurate and meaningful results. 6.2 Addressing Data Integration Challenges Integrating data from heterogeneous sources is a daunting challenge that organizations must overcome when implementing industrial big data analytics for predictive maintenance. It involves processing multiple datasets from different sensors and maintenance detection modalities, such as vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermal imaging, and acoustics. While utilizing data from various sources leads to more stable and accurate predictions, it requires additional investments in sensors and data collection, which is generally very hard to achieve in most maintenance systems. A well-crafted data architecture is critical to managing the copious amounts of data that come from different sources, including various equipment, sensors, and systems. Organizations must devise a comprehensive data integration strategy that incorporates relevant data sources to ensure data integrity and completeness. 6.3 Model Selection and Implementation Solutions Selecting appropriate predictive models and implementing them effectively is another significant challenge. To overcome this, organizations need to have an in-depth understanding of the various models available, their strengths and limitations, and their applicability to specific maintenance tasks. They must also possess the necessary expertise to implement the models and seamlessly integrate them into their existing maintenance workflows to achieve timely and accurate results. Furthermore, it is crucial to align the selected models with the organization's business objectives and ensure their ability to deliver the desired outcomes. 6.4 Staffing and Training Solutions In order to ensure successful implementation, organizations must allocate resources toward staffing and training solutions. This entails hiring proficient data scientists and analysts and then providing them with continual training and professional development opportunities. Moreover, it is imperative to have personnel with the requisite technical expertise to manage and maintain the system. Equally crucial is providing training to employees on the system's usage and equipping them with the necessary skills to interpret and analyze data. 7. Leverage Predictive Maintenance for Optimal Operations Predictive maintenance is widely acknowledged among plant operators as the quintessential maintenance vision due to its manifold advantages, such as higher overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) owing to a reduced frequency of repairs. Furthermore, predictive maintenance data analytics facilitate cost savings by enabling optimal scheduling of repairs and minimizing planned downtimes. It also enhances employees' productivity by providing valuable insights on the appropriate time for component replacement. Additionally, timely monitoring and addressing potential problems can augment workplace safety, which is paramount for ensuring employee well-being. In a survey of 500 plants that implemented a predictive maintenance program, there was an average increase in equipment availability of 30%. Simply implementing predictive maintenance will ensure your equipment is running when you need it to run. (Source: FMX) By synchronizing real-time equipment data with the maintenance management system, organizations can proactively prevent equipment breakdowns. Successful implementation of predictive maintenance data analytic strategies can substantially reduce the time and effort spent on maintaining equipment, as well as the consumption of spare parts and supplies for unplanned maintenance. Consequently, there will be fewer instances of breakdowns and equipment failures, ultimately leading to significant cost savings. On average, predictive maintenance reduced normal operating costs by 50%. (Source: FMX) 8. Final Thoughts Traditional reactive maintenance approaches need to be revised in today's industrial landscape. Proactive strategies, such as predictive maintenance, are necessary to maintain equipment health and performance. Real-time predictive maintenance using big data collected from equipment can help prevent costly downtime, waste, equipment replacement, and labor expenses, thus enhancing safety and productivity. The shift from reactive to proactive maintenance is crucial for organizations, and industrial big data analytics is vital for realizing this transition. Although big data analytics applications for predictive maintenance pose challenges, they can be overcome with the right measures. Ultimately, the effective implementation of big data analytics solutions is a vital enabler of big data predictive maintenance strategies and an essential tool for any industrial plant seeking to optimize its maintenance approach. By embracing predictive maintenance strategies and leveraging the power of industrial big data and analytics, organizations can ensure the longevity and reliability of their equipment, enhancing productivity and profitability.

Read More
BIG DATA MANAGEMENT

Data-Centric Approach for AI Development

Article | July 11, 2022

Discover the latest strategies and best practices for implementing big data and AI into your organization for 2023. Gain insights on leading Big Data and AI solution providers to drive business growth. Contents 1 Establishing a Relationship between Big Data and AI 2 Importance of Big Data and AI in 2023 3 Key Challenges in Implementing Big Data and AI 4 Best Practices and Strategies for Big Data and AI Implementation 4.1 Building a Data Strategy 4.2 Implementing a Data Governance Framework 4.3 Leveraging Cloud Computing 4.4 Developing a Data Science and AI Roadmap 4.5 Leveraging Established Agile Methodologies 4.6 Prototyping Through Sandboxing 5 Top AI and Big Data Companies to Look For in 2023 6 Conclusion 1. Establishing a Relationship between Big Data and AI The relationship between AI and big data is mutually beneficial, as AI requires vast amounts of data to enhance its decision-making abilities, while big data analytics benefits from AI for superior analysis. This union enables the implementation of advanced analytics, such as predictive analysis, resulting in the optimization of business efficiency by anticipating emerging trends, scrutinizing consumer behavior, automating customer segmentation, customizing digital campaigns, and utilizing decision support systems propelled by big data, AI, and predictive analytics. This integration empowers organizations to become data-driven, resulting in significant improvements in business performance. 2. Importance of Big Data and AI in 2023 In the year 2023, it is anticipated that the utilization of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) will profoundly impact diverse industries. The investment in big data analytics will be primarily driven by the need for data compliance, security, and mobilization, ultimately aiming to achieve real-time analysis. Therefore, businesses seeking to excel in this area must be prepared to adopt cloud technology and make significant advancements in computing power and data processing methods. Recent research indicates that a combination of AI and big data can automate nearly 80% of all physical work, 70% of data processing work, and 64% of data collection tasks. (Source: Forbes) The banking, retail, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and government sectors have already made substantial investments in big data analytics, which have resulted in the forecasting of trends, enhancing business recommendations, and increasing profits. In addition, AI technology will make significant advancements in 2023, including democratization, making it accessible to a broader user population. This shift will enable customers to wield authority, and businesses will be able to use AI to better meet their specific and individualized business requirements. Finally, a significant shift likely to be witnessed in the AI field in 2023 is the move to a more industrialized, embedded type of architecture, where actual business users may begin utilizing algorithms. According to a recent study, 61% of respondents believe that AI will have a significant impact on their industry within the next three to five years. (Source: Deloitte Insights Report) 3. Key Challenges in Implementing Big Data and AI 97.2% of business executives say their organizations are investing in big data and AI projects. These executives cite their desire to become “nimble, data-driven businesses” as the reason for these investments, as 54.4% say that their companies’ inability to do this was the biggest threat they faced. In addition, 79.4% say they’re afraid that other, more data-driven companies will disrupt and outperform them. (Source: Zippia) Implementing big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) presents various challenges that businesses must tackle to realize their full potential. One such obstacle is the intricate nature of the data, which could be either structured or unstructured and necessitate specialized tools and techniques for processing and analysis. Moreover, companies must ensure data quality, completeness, and integrity to facilitate accurate analysis and decision-making. Another substantial challenge in implementing big data and AI is the requirement for skilled personnel with expertise in data science, machine learning, and related technologies. To stay up-to-date on the latest tools and techniques, companies must invest in ongoing training and development programs for their employees. Ethical and legal concerns surrounding data privacy, security, and transparency must also be addressed, especially after recent data breaches and privacy scandals. Integrating big data and AI into existing IT systems can be a challenging and time-consuming process that necessitates careful planning and coordination to ensure smooth integration and minimize disruption. Lastly, the high cost of implementing these technologies can be a significant barrier, especially for smaller businesses or those with limited IT budgets. To overcome these challenges, companies must be strategic, prioritize use cases, and develop a clear implementation roadmap while leveraging third-party tools and services to minimize costs and maximize ROI. 4. Best Practices and Strategies for Big Data and AI Implementation 24% of companies use big data analytics. While 97.2% of companies say they’re investing in big data and AI projects, just 24% describe their organizations as data-driven. (Source: Zippia) 4.1 Building a Data Strategy One of the biggest challenges in building a data strategy is identifying the most relevant data sources and data types for the organization’s specific business objectives. The sheer volume and diversity of data available can further complicate this. The key to addressing this challenge is thoroughly assessing the organization’s data assets and prioritizing them based on their business value. This involves: Identifying the key business objectives and Determining which data sources and data types are most relevant to achieving those objectives 4.2 Implementing a Data Governance Framework Establishing a data governance framework involving all stakeholders is crucial for ensuring agreement on data quality, privacy, and security standards. However, implementing such a framework can be daunting due to the divergent priorities and perspectives of stakeholders on good data governance. So, to overcome this challenge, clear guidelines and processes must be established: Creating a data governance council Defining roles and responsibilities Involving all stakeholders in the development and implementation of guidelines Data quality management, privacy, and security processes should be established to maintain high data governance standards Organizations can improve the effectiveness of their data governance initiatives by aligning all stakeholders and ensuring their commitment to maintaining optimal data governance standards. 4.3 Leveraging Cloud Computing It is essential to carefully select a cloud provider that aligns with the organization's security and compliance requirements. In addition, robust data security and compliance controls should be implemented: Establishing data encryption and access controls Implementing data backup and recovery procedures Regularly conducting security and compliance audits By following these practices, organizations can ensure their big data and AI projects are secure and compliant. 4.4 Developing a Data Science and AI Roadmap The obstacles to developing a data science and AI roadmap lie in identifying the most pertinent use cases that cater to the specific business objectives of an organization. This difficulty is further compounded by the potential divergence of priorities and perspectives among various stakeholders concerning the definition of a successful use case. Hence, it is imperative to establish unambiguous guidelines for identifying and prioritizing use cases that align with their respective business values. This entails: Identifying the key business objectives Carefully ascertaining which use cases are most pertinent to realizing those objectives Meticulously delineating the success criteria for each use case 4.5 Leveraging Established Agile Methodologies Leveraging well-established agile methodologies is critical in successfully implementing large-scale big data and AI projects. By defining a precise project scope and goals, prioritizing tasks, and fostering consistent communication and collaboration, enterprises can effectively execute AI and big data analytics initiatives leveraging agile methodologies Such an approach provides teams with a clear understanding of their responsibilities, facilitates seamless communication, and promotes continuous improvement throughout the project lifecycle, resulting in a more efficient and effective implementation 4.6 Prototyping Through Sandboxing Establishing clear guidelines and processes is crucial to overcome the challenge of creating prototypes through sandboxing that are representative of the production environment and can meet the organization's requirements. It includes: Defining the scope and objectives of the prototype, Meticulously selecting the appropriate tools and technologies Guaranteeing that the prototype is an authentic reflection of the production environment Additionally, conducting thorough testing and evaluation is necessary to ensure that the prototype can be scaled effectively to meet the organization's needs. 5. Top AI and Big Data Companies to Look For in 2023 H2O.ai H2O.ai is a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) software. It provides a platform for businesses to use artificial intelligence and data-driven insights to drive innovation and growth. The software offers a suite of tools and algorithms to help users build predictive models, analyze data, and gain insights that inform business decisions. With a user-friendly interface and a robust set of features, H2O.ai is a valuable tool for businesses looking to leverage the power of machine learning to stay ahead of the competition. ThoughtSpot ThoughtSpot is a leading search and AI-driven analytics platform that enables businesses to quickly and easily analyze complex data sets. The platform offers a range of features, including advanced analytics, customizable visualizations, and collaborative capabilities. It is designed to make data analytics accessible to anyone within an organization, regardless of technical expertise. The platform is also highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor it to meet their specific needs and integrate it with their existing data infrastructure. Treasure Data Treasure Data is a cloud-based enterprise data management platform that helps businesses collect, store, and analyze their data to gain valuable insights. Its platform includes a suite of powerful tools for data collection, storage, processing, and analysis, including a flexible data pipeline, a powerful data management console, and a range of analytics tools. The platform is also highly scalable, capable of handling massive amounts of data and processing millions of events per second, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes and industries. Denodo Denodo is a leading data virtualization software company that provides a unified platform for integrating and delivering data across multiple sources and formats in real time. The platform offers unmatched performance and unified access to a broad range of enterprise, big data, cloud, and unstructured sources. It also provides agile data service provisioning and governance at less than half the cost of traditional data integration. In addition, its data virtualization technology simplifies the complexity of data sources and creates a virtual layer of data services accessible to any application or user, regardless of the data’s location or format. Pendo.io Pendo.io is a leading cloud-based platform that provides product analytics, user feedback, and guidance for digital products. It allows businesses to make data-driven decisions about their products and optimize their customer journey. The platform empowers companies to transform product intelligence into actionable insights rapidly and at scale, enabling a new generation of businesses that prioritize product development. TigerGraph TigerGraph is a graph database and analytics platform that allows businesses to gain deeper insights and make better decisions by analyzing connected data. It is designed to handle complex data sets and perform advanced graph analytics at scale. The platform offers a range of graph analytics algorithms that can be applied to a variety of use cases, including fraud detection, recommendation engines, supply chain optimization, and social network analysis. Solix Technologies, Inc. Solix Technologies, Inc. is a leading big data management and analysis software solution provider that empowers data-driven enterprises to achieve their Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) goals. Its flagship product, Solix Big Data Suite, provides an ILM framework for Enterprise Archiving and Enterprise Data Lake applications utilizing Apache Hadoop as an enterprise data repository. In addition, the Solix Enterprise Data Management Suite (Solix EDMS) helps organizations implement database archiving, test data management, data masking and application retirement across all enterprise data. Reltio Reltio is a leading provider of cloud-based master data management (MDM) solutions that enable organizations to create a unified view of their data across all sources and formats. The platform combines MDM with big data analytics and machine learning to provide a single source of truth for data-driven decision-making. The solution offers a range of features, including data modeling, data quality management, data governance, and data analytics. dbt Labs dbt Labs is a cloud-based data transformation software platform that helps analysts and engineers manage the entire analytics engineering workflow, from data ingestion to analysis. The platform enables users to transform and model raw data into analysis-ready data sets using a SQL-based language. With its modular and scalable approach, dbt Labs makes it easier for data teams to collaborate and manage their data pipelines. Rockset Rockset is a real-time indexing database platform that allows businesses to run fast queries on data from multiple sources without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure. It supports various data types, including structured, semi-structured, and nested data, making it flexible and versatile. In addition, the serverless platform is built on a cloud-native architecture, making it easy to scale up or down as needed. With Rockset, users can build real-time applications and dashboards, perform ad hoc analysis, and create data-driven workflows. 6. Conclusion The relationship between big data and AI is mutually beneficial, given the fact that AI requires copious amounts of data to refine its decision-making capabilities, while big data analytics derives immense value from AI for advanced analysis. As a result, the integration of big data analytics and AI is projected to profoundly impact diverse industries in 2023. Nevertheless, adopting these technologies poses multifarious challenges, necessitating businesses to adopt a strategic approach and develop a comprehensive implementation roadmap to optimize ROI and minimize expenses. Ultimately, the successful implementation of big data and AI strategies can enable organizations to become data-driven, culminating in substantial improvements in business performance.

Read More
BIG DATA MANAGEMENT

Why Adaptive AI Can Overtake Traditional AI

Article | July 12, 2022

Explore the impact of big data on the healthcare industry and how it is being used to improve patient outcomes. Discover how big data is being leveraged to enhance overall healthcare delivery. Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Role of Big Data in Healthcare 1.2 The Importance of Patient Outcomes 2. How Big Data Improves Patient Outcomes 2.1 Personalized Medicine and Treatment Plans 2.2 Early Disease Detection and Prevention 2.3 Improved Patient Safety and Reduced Medical Errors 3. Challenges and Considerations While Using Big Data in Healthcare 4. Final thoughts 1. Introduction In today's constantly evolving healthcare industry, the significance of big data cannot be overstated. Its multifaceted nature makes it a valuable asset to healthcare providers in their efforts to enhance patient outcomes and reduce business costs. When harnessed effectively, big data in healthcare provides companies with the insights they need to personalize healthcare, streamline customer service processes, and improve their practices for interacting with patients. This results in a more tailored and thorough experience for customers, ultimately leading to better care. 1.1 Role of Big Data in Healthcare Big data pertains to vast collections of structured and unstructured data in the healthcare industry. One of the primary sources of big data in healthcare is electronic health records (EHRs), which contain: Patient’s medical history Demographics Medications Test results Analyzing this data can: Facilitate informed decision-making Improve patient outcomes Reduce healthcare costs Integrating structured and unstructured data can add significant value to healthcare organizations, and Big Data Analytics (BDA) is the tool used to extract information from big data. Big Data Analytics (BDA) can extract information and create trends, and in healthcare, it can identify clusters, correlations, and predictive models from large datasets. However, privacy and security concerns and ensuring data accuracy and reliability are significant challenges that must be addressed. 1.2 The Importance of Patient Outcomes Patient outcomes are the consequences of healthcare interventions or treatments on a patient's health status and are essential in evaluating healthcare systems and guiding healthcare decision-making. However, the current healthcare system's focus on volume rather than value has led to fragmented payment and delivery systems that fall short in terms of quality, outcomes, costs, and equity. To overcome these shortcomings, a learning healthcare system is necessary to continuously apply knowledge for improved patient outcomes and affordability. However, access to timely guidance is limited, and organizational and technological limitations pose significant challenges in measuring patient-centered outcomes. 2. How Big Data Improves Patient Outcomes Big data in healthcare engenders a substantial impact by facilitating the delivery of treatment that is both efficient and effective. This innovative approach to healthcare enables the identification of high-risk patients, prediction of disease outbreaks, management of hospital performance, and improvement of treatment effectiveness. Thanks to modern technology, the collection of electronic data is now a seamless process, thus empowering healthcare professionals to create data-driven solutions to improve patient outcomes. 2.1 Personalized Medicine and Treatment Plans Big data can revolutionize personalized medicine and treatment plans by analyzing vast patient data to create tailored treatment plans for each patient, resulting in better outcomes, fewer side effects, and faster recovery times. 2.2 Early Disease Detection and Prevention Big data analytics in healthcare allow for early interventions and treatments by identifying patterns and trends that indicate disease onset. This improves patient outcomes and reduces healthcare costs. Real-time patient data monitoring and predictive analytics enable timely action to prevent complications. 2.3 Improved Patient Safety and Reduced Medical Errors Big data analytics can help healthcare providers identify safety risks like medication errors, misdiagnoses, and adverse reactions, improving patient safety and reducing medical errors. This can lead to cost savings and better patient outcomes. 3. Challenges and Considerations While Using Big Data in Healthcare In order to maximize the potential advantages, organizations must address significant challenges of big data in healthcare, like privacy and security concerns, data accuracy and reliability, and expertise and technology requirements. Safeguards like encryption, access controls, and data de-identification can mitigate privacy and security risks Ensuring data accuracy and reliability requires standardized data collection, cleaning, and validation procedures Additionally, healthcare organizations must prioritize the recruitment of qualified professionals with expertise in data management, and analysis is crucial The adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning can support effective analysis and interpretation of big data in healthcare 4. Final Thoughts The impact of big data on healthcare is profound, and the healthcare sector possesses the possibility of a paradigm shift by leveraging the potential of big data to augment patient outcomes and curtail costs. Nevertheless, implementing big data entails formidable challenges that necessitate their resolution to fully unleash healthcare data technology's benefits. Notably, handling voluminous and heterogeneous datasets in real time requires state-of-the-art technological solutions. To attain the maximal benefits of big data in healthcare, organizations must proactively address these challenges by implementing risk-mitigating measures and fully capitalizing on big data's potential.

Read More
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, DATA SCIENCE

Navigating Big Data Integration: Challenges and Strategies

Article | April 13, 2023

Explore the complexities of integrating Big Data into your organization. Learn effective strategies for overcoming challenges to optimize your data integration process and maximize business outcomes. Contents 1 Introduction 2 Challenges in Big Data Integration 2.1 Data Volume, Velocity, and Variety Challenges 2.2 Integration with Legacy Systems and Data Silos 2.3 Technical Challenges 2.4 Organizational Challenges 3 Overcoming Integration Challenges: Strategies 3.1 Conducting Thorough Analysis of Data Infrastructure 3.2 Prioritizing Projects Based On Business Needs 3.3 Implementing Scalable and Flexible Solutions 3.4 Establishing Robust Data Governance Practices 4 Conclusion 1. Introduction Big data integration is a critical component of effective data management for organizations of all sizes. While some CIOs may believe that consolidating legacy data sources into a single platform can solve integration challenges, the reality is often more complex. Data is vast and usually spread across multiple sources, making integration a daunting task. Nearly 25% of businesses struggle with integrating new applications with their old systems. That’s because legacy system integration isn’t always easy to achieve. (Source: Gartner) Thus, to tackle big data integration effectively, it's essential to understand how it fits into the organization's overall data management strategy and determine the policies governing the integration process. In addition, there are several technical challenges involved in data integration, including ensuring all components work well together, reflecting trends in big data analytics, and finding skilled big data engineers and analysts. 2. Challenges in Big Data Integration 2.1 Data Volume, Velocity, and Variety Challenges In order to effectively integrate big data, companies must address the three key components of volume, variety, and velocity. Coordinating and managing massive amounts of data is both logistically challenging and costly, especially with large volumes. Working with multiple data sources is also a major hurdle that necessitates advanced analytics resources and expertise. Large datasets can take weeks to process, making real-time data analytics an arduous task. This becomes particularly challenging when dealing with intricate and extensive datasets, where velocity poses a significant obstacle. Attempting to apply a uniform analytical process to all data sets may be impractical, further impeding progress. 2.2 Integration with Legacy Systems and Data Silos According to a report, 25% of organizations have more than 50 unique data silos, and these prevent companies from harnessing their data for their business. (Source: 451 Research) The integration of legacy systems presents a significant challenge for companies, as it entails various difficulties, such as high maintenance costs, data silos, compliance issues, weaker data security, and a lack of integration with new systems. The maintenance of legacy systems is both expensive and futile, leaving a company with outdated technology and a tarnished reputation due to potential breaches. Furthermore, legacy systems may fail to meet evolving compliance regulations such as GDPR and lack appropriate data security measures. Over time, data silos can develop due to organizational structures and company culture, leading to difficulties in achieving effective data integration. Siloed data obstructs departments from accessing the full benefits of new systems, impeding technological growth within a company. Additionally, legacy systems may not be compatible with new systems, causing further communication issues. 2.3 Technical Challenges Selecting the Right Big Data Integration Tools Choosing the right tools, technologies and big data integration services is crucial to meet specific business needs. It can be challenging to keep up with the constantly evolving technology landscape, making it important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations. The decision-making process should involve a thorough evaluation of existing tools and technologies to determine their effectiveness and relevance to the integration process. Failure to choose the appropriate tools and technologies can lead to inefficiencies, longer processing times, and increased costs. Ensuring Different Systems and Data Formats Compatibility It is estimated that around 85% of big data projects will fail to meet all their objectives, illustrating the scale of the challenge that businesses face when trying to get a handle on complex and disparate data from across the enterprise. (Source: Gartner) In integrating big data, it is common to have different systems and data formats that need to be integrated. Ensuring compatibility between these different systems and data formats can be a challenge. A solution-based approach to this challenge is to use data integration platforms that provide support for a wide range of data formats and systems. This ensures that the integration process is seamless and efficient. Addressing Issues of Data Quality and Completeness To integrate big data successfully, it's essential to address issues related to data quality and completeness. Only accurate or complete data can lead to correct insights and precise decision-making, which can benefit businesses. Developing comprehensive data quality management strategies that include data profiling, cleansing, and validation is necessary to overcome this challenge. These strategies ensure that the data being integrated is accurate and complete, leading to better actionable insights and business intelligence. 2.4 Organizational Challenges Developing Comprehensive Integration Strategy Developing a clear and comprehensive integration strategy for big data can be challenging, but it is essential for success. The developed strategy should clearly outline the business objectives and the scope of the integration effort as well as identify the key stakeholders involved. Additionally, it should define the technical requirements and resources necessary to support the integration effort. Building Cross-Functional Teams to Support Integration Efforts Building cross-functional teams for successful data integration can be challenging due to identifying the right individuals with diverse skill sets and navigating complex technical environments. However, it is crucial to form teams comprising members from various departments, including IT, data science, and administration, who collaborate to identify business needs, devise an integration strategy, and implement integration solutions. Building such teams promotes effective communication and coordination across departments and stakeholders, enabling organizations to leverage data assets effectively. 3. Overcoming Integration Challenges: Strategies 3.1 Conducting Thorough Analysis of Data Infrastructure Conducting a thorough analysis of existing data infrastructure and systems is the first step in any data integration effort. This analysis should identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing infrastructure and systems. This information can be used to develop a comprehensive integration strategy that addresses existing challenges and identifies opportunities for improvement. 3.2 Prioritizing Projects Based On Business Needs It is crucial to prioritize, and sequence integration projects based on business needs to leverage the benefits of data integration. This approach ensures that resources are allocated appropriately and the most critical projects are addressed first. Conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis is an effective way to determine the value and impact of each project to prioritize and plan accordingly. 3.3 Implementing Scalable and Flexible Solutions In orderto accommodate the ever-increasing amount of data and evolving business requirements, it is essential to implement scalable and flexible integration solutions. This approach ensures that the integration process remains efficient and can adapt to changing needs. Modern data integration platforms that support cloud-based solutions, real-time data processing, and flexible data models can be adopted to achieve this. 3.4 Establishing Robust Data Governance Practices Establishing robust data governance practices ensures data is managed effectively throughout the integration process. This involves defining clear policies, procedures, and standards for data management across the entire data lifecycle, from acquisition to disposition. Additionally, data quality and security controls should be implemented, and employees must be trained on data governance best practices. Organizations can effectively manage data by establishing these practices throughout the integration process. It includes defining data ownership, establishing policies, and implementing quality controls. Ultimately, this approach ensures that data is accurate, complete, and reliable and that the organization is compliant with any relevant regulations or standards. 4. Conclusion Integrating big data represents a formidable obstacle for many organizations, yet with the proper strategies in place, these challenges can be surmounted, enabling businesses to unleash the full potential of their data assets. It is paramount that organizations possess a comprehensive and lucid understanding of both the technical and organizational challenges inherent in integrating big data. Businesses must prioritize data integration and processing initiatives based on their commercial requirements, employ scalable and flexible solutions, and establish robust data governance practices. By doing so, they can acquire invaluable insights that drive business growth and innovation, improve operational efficiency, and enhance their competitiveness in the market.

Read More
MORE ARTICLES

Spotlight

Mtell

Founded in 2006, Mtell is a privately held company providing software solutions for managing the health of industrial equipment. Making machines smart, Mtell is the pioneer of machine learning for industrial maintenance and plays an important role in developing the industrial internet. Mtell-enabled machines know what’s normal and what’s not. They sense early warning of failures in minuscule patterns that humans cannot detect, and then they directly ask for inspection or precise maintenance well before a machine breakdown.

Related News

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, DATA SCIENCE

Collibra Introduces New Innovations and Integrations to Extend the Value of Customers' Data Ecosystems

Prnewswire | June 07, 2023

Collibra, the Data Intelligence company, today announced new innovations and integrations to help customers realize more value from their cloud migration and modernization investments. The latest release of the Collibra Data Intelligence Cloud provides expanded integrations with leading technology partners, new data quality capabilities, and new out-of-the-box workflows that enable customers to build on existing systems and processes while using Collibra to gain visibility and expand access to trusted data across their organization. Currently, most organizations rely on a hybrid, multi-cloud ecosystem across many cloud providers and data vendors to support the increasingly complex and large volumes of data they have. According to Gartner[1] more than 75% of organizations use more than one cloud service provider. IDC[2] notes that 95% of organizations are integrating data across hybrid clouds, and 77% of organizations are integrating up to five different types of data in pipelines that are coming from or going to up to 10 different types of data storage and management technologies. With this complexity, organizations struggle to gain full visibility into their data estate and extract maximum value from their data. The latest release from Collibra helps organizations overcome this challenge by providing data intelligence across multiple sources and empowering teams with the visibility and insights needed to use their data more effectively. "Organizations are looking to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and strategically leverage their resources to be better positioned in the current economic climate," said Laura Sellers, Chief Product Officer, Collibra. "With these new innovations, our customers can build on their existing cloud and data modernization efforts and simultaneously do more with those investments by using Collibra. It's a game changer for organizations managing complex data ecosystems. This will help our customers improve efficiencies and empower their teams to spend more time and resources focused on innovation and growth." Collibra is introducing several new and expanded integrations to help organizations gain deeper visibility and clarity into sprawling data ecosystems with improved discovery, understanding, and data protection across more sources. This adds to the over 100 out-of-the-box integrations Collibra already provides. The Databricks Unity Catalog integration provides visibility and understanding of Databricks data by enabling the discovery and governance of assets within Collibra. The Google Cloud Storage integration enables customers to take control of data, scale access, accelerate analytics, and comply with policies with the ability to retrieve, map, and ingest metadata using Collibra. With the Azure Data Factory integration, customers can discover and understand their data by automatically harvesting and stitching lineage, and the Azure Data Lake Storage integration provides a complete view of containers, directories, and files within Collibra. Enhanced BI integrations for Power BI, Tableau and MicroStrategy (public beta) provide users an end-to-end understanding of BI assets by making it easier to interpret technical lineage and track the transformations between objects. Collibra Protect is expanding to support AWS Lake Formation so that users can easily create data access policies in Collibra and push them to AWS to safeguard sensitive data. The release also includes the general availability of Data Quality Pushdown for Snowflake and the public beta of Data Quality Pushdown for Databricks, which help increase efficiency and reduce the cost of data quality in the cloud. With Data Quality Pushdown, organizations can securely process data directly in the cloud for faster results while using fewer costly resources. New capabilities include automatically discovering rules and detecting anomalies to downstream issues, increasing efficiency by scanning billions of records in seconds without a dependency on Spark, and decreasing costs by securely processing data in Snowflake or Databricks directly – removing fees for data egress. Collibra continues to focus on tailored experiences so users can act quickly with expanded workflow, lineage and data marketplace capabilities. Users can get started quickly with new out-of-the-box workflows and a workflow deploy button, available as part of the Workflow Designer public beta, that make using and deploying workflows faster than ever. A new UI-based lineage configuration capability enables quick access to lineage with streamlined deployment of out-of-the-box integrations. The Collibra Data Marketplace helps jumpstart productivity with a self-service interface that makes trusted data easy to discover and access. Now, organizations can further tailor the marketplace experience by customizing workflows for specific asset types and ensuring the appropriate workflows are available to data consumers. As part of the focus on faster value realization, Collibra continues to introduce new Professional Services, training, and self-serve resources. A recently launched new offering is Accelerated Development, part of Coaching Services, which provides multiple hours with a dedicated Architect to complete more intensive projects. Collibra has also recently launched Start Collibra, a self-serve getting started center on the Data Citizens Community, and three new customer webinar series to help customers and partners drive adoption and skill development. Northern Trust, a financial services company that helps guide the world's most successful families, and institutions through service and collective expertise, uses Collibra as an enterprise-wide data quality and data catalog solution to improve access to data and provide high quality data for insights. "At Northern Trust, data is knowledge and our competitive advantage. Collibra is at the center of our data strategy, enabling our business to gain clear visibility and understanding of trusted data to support data-driven decisions that help our clients achieve their financial goals," said Adrienne Kiessel, Head of Enterprise Data Governance, Northern Trust. "We're looking forward to continuing to partner with Collibra to deliver more value from our Snowflake investment, improve data quality, and empower the business to leverage data as a strategic asset." About Collibra Collibra helps our customers do more with trusted data. Our Data Intelligence Cloud brings flexible governance, continuous quality and built-in privacy to the world's leading brands. To learn more, visit collibra.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Read More

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS STRATEGY

TIBCO Intelligently Unifies Data with Key Enhancements to Cohesive Data Integration Offerings

Businesswire | June 06, 2023

TIBCO, a global leader in enterprise connectivity, empowers the world’s most innovative companies to solve their complex data challenges and make mission-critical business decisions with greater confidence and impact. Today, TIBCO announced enhancements to its data integration capabilities, assisting customers in unifying data intelligently and delivering on requirements for better access, trust, and control. These advancements provide a highly cohesive suite of data management solutions to enable a data integration architecture that connects disparate data sources, breaks down silos, and improves overall data quality. "While we can't underestimate the power of data, we also can't overlook the complexities some companies face in accessing quality data," said Ali Ahmed, general manager, TIBCO, a business unit of Cloud Software Group. "If organizations are to meet this challenge head-on, they must embrace a data integration framework, which enables them to unify data intelligently and better position themselves as a data-driven organization to make faster, smarter decisions." TIBCO's data integration framework delivers data to everyone, supporting cloud-native application development using diverse data, and automating data access. These new enhancements are central to creating balanced, smart, automated data capabilities for the citizen data engineer in a low-code, no-code environment. Updates expand on comprehensive data management capabilities, capitalize on advancements in machine learning operations, and deliver industry-tailored solutions to enable faster adoption. This builds on recent updates to TIBCO EBX®, a leading Master Data Management (MDM) platform. With our most recent launch, EBX® 6.1, enhancements continue to lead the MDM landscape trends with new social and collaborative features, extended hierarchies capabilities, new modes to display data, and leading business objects. EBX begins the year with nine leadership rankings, including being recognized as a leader by five analyst firms in the 2022 and 2023 report years. TIBCO® Data Virtualization, another critical component of TIBCO’s data integration framework, now features improved smart mapping to bring more confident and powerful visual insight to valuable data. This unifies all scattered data into a modern data layer to keep up with changing business needs while removing complexities and risks. With TIBCO Data Virtualization, widely spread data is now readily connected in a faster and more accessible manner. The online user interface now includes a redesigned homepage and search features for data cataloging, increased access and security functions, and expanded industry-standard authentication methods for delivering secure, delegated access and device authorization. As a result, users may rapidly and cost-effectively integrate data while generating and maintaining virtualized views and data services. With the TIBCO Data Virtualization application's modular framework, Java enterprise-grade middleware covers all data virtualization development, run time, and administration phases. Data is now genuinely impactful, providing value through insights to enhance revenue, reduce expenses, and improve risk and compliance. As a result of the innovative functionality noted, TIBCO Data Virtualization recently took first place in the 2022 GigaOm Radar Enterprise Data Virtualization Report, the 2022 Top Rated award on TrustRadius, G2's 2023 Leader in the Data Visualization category, along with receiving numerous peer review awards and badges in customer feedback. TIBCO’s data integration architecture is built with TIBCO Cloud™ Integration, a solution that was recently updated with new features to accelerate complex data mapping and transformation. The enhanced smart mapping capabilities are powered by AI to provide automated recommendations based on years of training by user inputs. TIBCO Cloud Integration continues to be recognized for strong data integration capabilities and our broad portfolio of connectors to any data source by analysts, including a recent leadership ranking in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for iPaaS. Follow @TIBCO on Twitter and on our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages to hear the latest TIBCO news and updates. About TIBCO TIBCO, a business unit of Cloud Software Group, unlocks the potential of real-time data for making faster, smarter decisions. Our Connected Intelligence Platform seamlessly connects any application or data source; intelligently unifies data for greater access, trust, and control; and confidently predicts outcomes in real time and at scale. Learn how solutions to our customers' most critical business challenges are made possible by TIBCO at www.tibco.com. TIBCO, TIBCO Cloud, EBX, and the TIBCO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloud Software Group, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other product and company names and marks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned for identification.

Read More

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS STRATEGY

Rocket Software Democratizes Data with Rocket® Data Intelligence; Enabling Optimized Decision Making and a More Productive Workforce

Businesswire | June 09, 2023

Rocket Software, a global technology leader that develops enterprise software for some of the world’s largest companies, today unveiled the latest version of Rocket® Data Intelligence, a self-service data platform built on automation that spans cloud, distributed, and mainframe infrastructures to power the democratization of data. With an intuitive interface and clear visualizations, Rocket® Data Intelligence enables all users – regardless of their background in data science – to see a full picture of the organization’s data landscape and the data context needed to understand which data can be trusted. Organizations that have higher confidence in their data will make decisions that drive better business outcomes. In today’s fast-paced, digital-first world, organizations are only as powerful as the data they collect, understand, and leverage. According to IDC, organizations with a high level of data intelligence experienced 40% higher financial improvements and 20% higher operational improvements, compared to those with a low level of data intelligence. For too long, the ability to read, interpret, and act upon organizational data has been limited to certain employees. This has left organizations largely in the dark, unable to access, understand, and leverage critical organizational data—slowing decision-making. When organizations have the tools they need to ensure anyone in the organization can easily understand and interpret organizational data—whether it lives on the mainframe or in the cloud—the result is a more productive, agile, and efficient business. Rocket® Data Intelligence enables all users to take advantage of data lineage capabilities. Rocket® Data Intelligence is automated and tracks the flow of data, from the moment of origin to every instance as it’s accessed and manipulated, so users can trust the data they are using. The platform can be applied at scale and supports more technology connections than any other vendor on the market, meaning the platform can plug and play into the complex environments of the world’s largest organizations, regardless of how they are using the data. Rocket® Data Intelligence benefits users across the entire organization: Chief Data Officers can focus on delivering the unique value that comes from exceptional data, including uncovering opportunities to optimize costs and reduce compliance exposure Chief Information Officers can improve upfront planning for the data components of a modernization or growth initiative, thus leading to quicker and more reliable outcomes Line of Business Leaders can execute business reporting more efficiently to free up resources for garnering data insights “It cannot be overstated how critical data is within an organization, and it only becomes more powerful and useful when more users within the business can access, share, and interpret data,” said Chris Wey, President, Data Modernization at Rocket Software. “With Rocket® Data Intelligence, enterprises can employ a solution with the breadth in coverage – cloud, distributed, and mainframe – and depth in data intelligence capabilities needed to reduce costs and complexity, streamline integration, and improve decision making.” With Rocket® Data Intelligence, business and technical users can evolve their data management practices by: Quickly and comprehensively identifying critical data for business and regulatory requirements Creating robust plans for change, from updating data flows to managing cloud migration Streamlining data-driven decision making as business and data needs grow and evolve Optimizing the organization’s data footprint so it evolves based on the organization’s needs About Rocket Software Rocket Software partners with the largest enterprises, in all industries, to solve their most complex IT challenges, across infrastructure, data, and applications — with solutions that simplify, not disrupt their modernization journey. Trusted by over 10,000 customers, Rocket Software helps enterprises modernize in place with a hybrid cloud strategy, so they don’t need to re-platform or build from the ground up. The company’s 2,600 global employees work with customers to accelerate and optimize their modernization journey while meeting evolving market needs. Rocket Software is a privately held U.S. corporation headquartered in the Boston area with centers of excellence strategically located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Rocket Software is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity. Follow Rocket Software on LinkedIn and Twitter or visit www.RocketSoftware.com.

Read More

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, DATA SCIENCE

Collibra Introduces New Innovations and Integrations to Extend the Value of Customers' Data Ecosystems

Prnewswire | June 07, 2023

Collibra, the Data Intelligence company, today announced new innovations and integrations to help customers realize more value from their cloud migration and modernization investments. The latest release of the Collibra Data Intelligence Cloud provides expanded integrations with leading technology partners, new data quality capabilities, and new out-of-the-box workflows that enable customers to build on existing systems and processes while using Collibra to gain visibility and expand access to trusted data across their organization. Currently, most organizations rely on a hybrid, multi-cloud ecosystem across many cloud providers and data vendors to support the increasingly complex and large volumes of data they have. According to Gartner[1] more than 75% of organizations use more than one cloud service provider. IDC[2] notes that 95% of organizations are integrating data across hybrid clouds, and 77% of organizations are integrating up to five different types of data in pipelines that are coming from or going to up to 10 different types of data storage and management technologies. With this complexity, organizations struggle to gain full visibility into their data estate and extract maximum value from their data. The latest release from Collibra helps organizations overcome this challenge by providing data intelligence across multiple sources and empowering teams with the visibility and insights needed to use their data more effectively. "Organizations are looking to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and strategically leverage their resources to be better positioned in the current economic climate," said Laura Sellers, Chief Product Officer, Collibra. "With these new innovations, our customers can build on their existing cloud and data modernization efforts and simultaneously do more with those investments by using Collibra. It's a game changer for organizations managing complex data ecosystems. This will help our customers improve efficiencies and empower their teams to spend more time and resources focused on innovation and growth." Collibra is introducing several new and expanded integrations to help organizations gain deeper visibility and clarity into sprawling data ecosystems with improved discovery, understanding, and data protection across more sources. This adds to the over 100 out-of-the-box integrations Collibra already provides. The Databricks Unity Catalog integration provides visibility and understanding of Databricks data by enabling the discovery and governance of assets within Collibra. The Google Cloud Storage integration enables customers to take control of data, scale access, accelerate analytics, and comply with policies with the ability to retrieve, map, and ingest metadata using Collibra. With the Azure Data Factory integration, customers can discover and understand their data by automatically harvesting and stitching lineage, and the Azure Data Lake Storage integration provides a complete view of containers, directories, and files within Collibra. Enhanced BI integrations for Power BI, Tableau and MicroStrategy (public beta) provide users an end-to-end understanding of BI assets by making it easier to interpret technical lineage and track the transformations between objects. Collibra Protect is expanding to support AWS Lake Formation so that users can easily create data access policies in Collibra and push them to AWS to safeguard sensitive data. The release also includes the general availability of Data Quality Pushdown for Snowflake and the public beta of Data Quality Pushdown for Databricks, which help increase efficiency and reduce the cost of data quality in the cloud. With Data Quality Pushdown, organizations can securely process data directly in the cloud for faster results while using fewer costly resources. New capabilities include automatically discovering rules and detecting anomalies to downstream issues, increasing efficiency by scanning billions of records in seconds without a dependency on Spark, and decreasing costs by securely processing data in Snowflake or Databricks directly – removing fees for data egress. Collibra continues to focus on tailored experiences so users can act quickly with expanded workflow, lineage and data marketplace capabilities. Users can get started quickly with new out-of-the-box workflows and a workflow deploy button, available as part of the Workflow Designer public beta, that make using and deploying workflows faster than ever. A new UI-based lineage configuration capability enables quick access to lineage with streamlined deployment of out-of-the-box integrations. The Collibra Data Marketplace helps jumpstart productivity with a self-service interface that makes trusted data easy to discover and access. Now, organizations can further tailor the marketplace experience by customizing workflows for specific asset types and ensuring the appropriate workflows are available to data consumers. As part of the focus on faster value realization, Collibra continues to introduce new Professional Services, training, and self-serve resources. A recently launched new offering is Accelerated Development, part of Coaching Services, which provides multiple hours with a dedicated Architect to complete more intensive projects. Collibra has also recently launched Start Collibra, a self-serve getting started center on the Data Citizens Community, and three new customer webinar series to help customers and partners drive adoption and skill development. Northern Trust, a financial services company that helps guide the world's most successful families, and institutions through service and collective expertise, uses Collibra as an enterprise-wide data quality and data catalog solution to improve access to data and provide high quality data for insights. "At Northern Trust, data is knowledge and our competitive advantage. Collibra is at the center of our data strategy, enabling our business to gain clear visibility and understanding of trusted data to support data-driven decisions that help our clients achieve their financial goals," said Adrienne Kiessel, Head of Enterprise Data Governance, Northern Trust. "We're looking forward to continuing to partner with Collibra to deliver more value from our Snowflake investment, improve data quality, and empower the business to leverage data as a strategic asset." About Collibra Collibra helps our customers do more with trusted data. Our Data Intelligence Cloud brings flexible governance, continuous quality and built-in privacy to the world's leading brands. To learn more, visit collibra.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Read More

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS STRATEGY

TIBCO Intelligently Unifies Data with Key Enhancements to Cohesive Data Integration Offerings

Businesswire | June 06, 2023

TIBCO, a global leader in enterprise connectivity, empowers the world’s most innovative companies to solve their complex data challenges and make mission-critical business decisions with greater confidence and impact. Today, TIBCO announced enhancements to its data integration capabilities, assisting customers in unifying data intelligently and delivering on requirements for better access, trust, and control. These advancements provide a highly cohesive suite of data management solutions to enable a data integration architecture that connects disparate data sources, breaks down silos, and improves overall data quality. "While we can't underestimate the power of data, we also can't overlook the complexities some companies face in accessing quality data," said Ali Ahmed, general manager, TIBCO, a business unit of Cloud Software Group. "If organizations are to meet this challenge head-on, they must embrace a data integration framework, which enables them to unify data intelligently and better position themselves as a data-driven organization to make faster, smarter decisions." TIBCO's data integration framework delivers data to everyone, supporting cloud-native application development using diverse data, and automating data access. These new enhancements are central to creating balanced, smart, automated data capabilities for the citizen data engineer in a low-code, no-code environment. Updates expand on comprehensive data management capabilities, capitalize on advancements in machine learning operations, and deliver industry-tailored solutions to enable faster adoption. This builds on recent updates to TIBCO EBX®, a leading Master Data Management (MDM) platform. With our most recent launch, EBX® 6.1, enhancements continue to lead the MDM landscape trends with new social and collaborative features, extended hierarchies capabilities, new modes to display data, and leading business objects. EBX begins the year with nine leadership rankings, including being recognized as a leader by five analyst firms in the 2022 and 2023 report years. TIBCO® Data Virtualization, another critical component of TIBCO’s data integration framework, now features improved smart mapping to bring more confident and powerful visual insight to valuable data. This unifies all scattered data into a modern data layer to keep up with changing business needs while removing complexities and risks. With TIBCO Data Virtualization, widely spread data is now readily connected in a faster and more accessible manner. The online user interface now includes a redesigned homepage and search features for data cataloging, increased access and security functions, and expanded industry-standard authentication methods for delivering secure, delegated access and device authorization. As a result, users may rapidly and cost-effectively integrate data while generating and maintaining virtualized views and data services. With the TIBCO Data Virtualization application's modular framework, Java enterprise-grade middleware covers all data virtualization development, run time, and administration phases. Data is now genuinely impactful, providing value through insights to enhance revenue, reduce expenses, and improve risk and compliance. As a result of the innovative functionality noted, TIBCO Data Virtualization recently took first place in the 2022 GigaOm Radar Enterprise Data Virtualization Report, the 2022 Top Rated award on TrustRadius, G2's 2023 Leader in the Data Visualization category, along with receiving numerous peer review awards and badges in customer feedback. TIBCO’s data integration architecture is built with TIBCO Cloud™ Integration, a solution that was recently updated with new features to accelerate complex data mapping and transformation. The enhanced smart mapping capabilities are powered by AI to provide automated recommendations based on years of training by user inputs. TIBCO Cloud Integration continues to be recognized for strong data integration capabilities and our broad portfolio of connectors to any data source by analysts, including a recent leadership ranking in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for iPaaS. Follow @TIBCO on Twitter and on our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages to hear the latest TIBCO news and updates. About TIBCO TIBCO, a business unit of Cloud Software Group, unlocks the potential of real-time data for making faster, smarter decisions. Our Connected Intelligence Platform seamlessly connects any application or data source; intelligently unifies data for greater access, trust, and control; and confidently predicts outcomes in real time and at scale. Learn how solutions to our customers' most critical business challenges are made possible by TIBCO at www.tibco.com. TIBCO, TIBCO Cloud, EBX, and the TIBCO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloud Software Group, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other product and company names and marks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned for identification.

Read More

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS STRATEGY

Rocket Software Democratizes Data with Rocket® Data Intelligence; Enabling Optimized Decision Making and a More Productive Workforce

Businesswire | June 09, 2023

Rocket Software, a global technology leader that develops enterprise software for some of the world’s largest companies, today unveiled the latest version of Rocket® Data Intelligence, a self-service data platform built on automation that spans cloud, distributed, and mainframe infrastructures to power the democratization of data. With an intuitive interface and clear visualizations, Rocket® Data Intelligence enables all users – regardless of their background in data science – to see a full picture of the organization’s data landscape and the data context needed to understand which data can be trusted. Organizations that have higher confidence in their data will make decisions that drive better business outcomes. In today’s fast-paced, digital-first world, organizations are only as powerful as the data they collect, understand, and leverage. According to IDC, organizations with a high level of data intelligence experienced 40% higher financial improvements and 20% higher operational improvements, compared to those with a low level of data intelligence. For too long, the ability to read, interpret, and act upon organizational data has been limited to certain employees. This has left organizations largely in the dark, unable to access, understand, and leverage critical organizational data—slowing decision-making. When organizations have the tools they need to ensure anyone in the organization can easily understand and interpret organizational data—whether it lives on the mainframe or in the cloud—the result is a more productive, agile, and efficient business. Rocket® Data Intelligence enables all users to take advantage of data lineage capabilities. Rocket® Data Intelligence is automated and tracks the flow of data, from the moment of origin to every instance as it’s accessed and manipulated, so users can trust the data they are using. The platform can be applied at scale and supports more technology connections than any other vendor on the market, meaning the platform can plug and play into the complex environments of the world’s largest organizations, regardless of how they are using the data. Rocket® Data Intelligence benefits users across the entire organization: Chief Data Officers can focus on delivering the unique value that comes from exceptional data, including uncovering opportunities to optimize costs and reduce compliance exposure Chief Information Officers can improve upfront planning for the data components of a modernization or growth initiative, thus leading to quicker and more reliable outcomes Line of Business Leaders can execute business reporting more efficiently to free up resources for garnering data insights “It cannot be overstated how critical data is within an organization, and it only becomes more powerful and useful when more users within the business can access, share, and interpret data,” said Chris Wey, President, Data Modernization at Rocket Software. “With Rocket® Data Intelligence, enterprises can employ a solution with the breadth in coverage – cloud, distributed, and mainframe – and depth in data intelligence capabilities needed to reduce costs and complexity, streamline integration, and improve decision making.” With Rocket® Data Intelligence, business and technical users can evolve their data management practices by: Quickly and comprehensively identifying critical data for business and regulatory requirements Creating robust plans for change, from updating data flows to managing cloud migration Streamlining data-driven decision making as business and data needs grow and evolve Optimizing the organization’s data footprint so it evolves based on the organization’s needs About Rocket Software Rocket Software partners with the largest enterprises, in all industries, to solve their most complex IT challenges, across infrastructure, data, and applications — with solutions that simplify, not disrupt their modernization journey. Trusted by over 10,000 customers, Rocket Software helps enterprises modernize in place with a hybrid cloud strategy, so they don’t need to re-platform or build from the ground up. The company’s 2,600 global employees work with customers to accelerate and optimize their modernization journey while meeting evolving market needs. Rocket Software is a privately held U.S. corporation headquartered in the Boston area with centers of excellence strategically located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Rocket Software is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity. Follow Rocket Software on LinkedIn and Twitter or visit www.RocketSoftware.com.

Read More

Events