Innovations in technology are changing the rules when it considers the use of big data and analytics for better growth. Advanced software systems are highly decreasing analytics time, hence offering companies the potential for making quick decisions that will help in boosting revenue, mitigating costs and stimulating growth. This provides a competitive advantage to the organizations that are able to work on a faster pace and target their consumers more efficaciously.
Introduction
The use of Big Data and Analytics has been here for quite a while, however, it was not until recently that Big Data is revolutionizing the business world. A number of organizations are now understanding how they are able to capture the terabytes of data that streams into their businesses and implement analytics for transforming it into actionable and in-depth insights. The advantages of the use of big data and analytics have made it a significant requirement for organizations exploring to harness their business potential. For professionals also, there is an ocean of positive possibilities in Big Data Analytics to consider it for their next career move.
What Is Big Data and Analytics?
‘Big Data’ refers to a highly larger volume of data and data sets that tends to include structured and unstructured data coming in from a number of sources. Furthermore, these datasets are so large that conventional data processing software is not able to capture, handle, or process them. Complicated big data can be applied for addressing business problems that were earlier inaccessible.
Frequently, big data is also characterized by the three Vs. – data entailing bigVariety, coming in bigger Volumes, with greater Velocity. On the other hand, the data can come from publicly accessible sources like social media, the cloud, websites, mobile apps, sensors, and several other devices. Businesses access such data for observing consumer details like buying history, what they looked for or what they watched, their preferences, interests, and so on. Big data analytics uses analytic techniques for examining information, hence, receiving and finding out data like hidden patterns, market trends, correlations, and consumer preferences. Thus, analytics are helping the organizations in making informed business decisions that are leading to productive operations, satisfied consumers, and increased profits.
Use of Big Data and Analytics
Big Businesses all over the globe are integrating Big Data and analytics for achieving big success.
- Amazon, the online e-commerce giant, applies its massive data bank for accessing details such as customer names, payments, addresses, and search histories and integrates them in advertising algorithms and for enhancing customer relations.
- The American Express Company is using big data for analyzing customer patterns.
- Marketing leader Capital One is utilizing big data analysis for making sure of the success of their customer offers.
- Whereas, Netflix is using big data for gaining insight into the viewing patterns of international viewers.
- Brands like Marriott Hotels, McDonald’s, Uber Eats, Starbucks are also constantly integrating big data as part of their core business.
Most Compelling Advantages of the Use of Big Data and Analytics
Businesses, small or big, across industries can leverage from integrating big data effectively. The benefits of big data and analytics involves improved decision-making, bigger innovations, and product price optimization, among others. Let’s take a look at the top benefits closely:
Customer Acquisition and Retention
The digital footprints of customers tends to reveal a lot about their interests, requirements, purchasing behavior, etc. Businesses are using big data for observing consumer patterns and then customize their products and services as per to the specific customer needs. This goes a long way for ensuring customer satisfaction, loyalty, and finally, a considerable increase in sales.
Furthermore, Amazon has utilized this big data advantage by providing the eventual customized shopping experience, wherein recommendation pop up based on previous purchases as well as products that other customers have recently bought, exploring patterns, and other aspects.
Focused and Targeted Promotions
The use of Big Data and Analytics are allowing businesses for delivering personalized products to their targeted audience—no more spending big amounts on promotional campaigns that are not delivering anything. With big data, organizations are able to analyze customer patterns by monitoring their online shopping and point-of-sale transactions. These in-depth insights are then implemented for design-focused and targeted campaigns that will allow brands to live up to customer expectations and structure a robust brand loyalty.
Potential Risks Identification
Businesses are operating in high-risk environments, so they need a strong effective risk management solutions for addressing issues. Big data is playing a crucial role in making effective risk management processes and plans.
Big data analytics and tools quickly mitigate risks by optimizing complicated decisions for unexpected events and capable threats.
Innovate
The insights you attain by implementing big data analytics are the solutions to innovation. The use of Big data and analytics are allowing you to update current products/services while innovating new ones. The huge volume of data gathered helps businesses to identify what suits their customer base. Information on what others think of your products/services will be helping in product development.
The insights can also be incorporated for twisting business strategies, improving marketing techniques, and optimizing customer service, employee productivity.
Complex Supplier Networks
Companies that are using big data provide supplier networks or B2B communities with greater precision and insights. Suppliers are able to integrate big data analytics for evading constraints they tend to typically encounter. Furthermore, Big data is allowing suppliers for using greater levels of contextual intelligence that is vital for success.
Cost optimization
One of the most powerful gain that big data tools like Hadoop and Spark are offering involves considerable cost benefits for processing, storing, and analyzing large volumes of data. The cost mitigation benefit of big data is appropriately presented through an example from the logistics industry.
Most often, the cost of returns is 1.5 times higher than normal shipping costs. Thus they can take appropriate actions to reduce product-return losses.
Improve Efficiency
Big data tools are improving functional efficiency—your interaction with customers and their quantitative feedback will be helping in collecting huge amounts of valuable customer information. Analytics can then take out meaningful patterns hidden within the data for creating tailored products. The tools are able to automate routine processes and tasks, therefore, freeing up valuable time for employees, which they can use it for performing tasks that requires cognitive skills.
Conclusion
In spite of the numerous benefits of big data and analytics, there are yet several untapped opportunities in the data world that are yet to be explored. As businesses are look forward to exploit the power of big data, there is a greater demand for professionals with data analytical skills who can increase the organization operation as well as boost their careers.
