“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.