Big Data – What is Big Data?

The term Big Data refers to the process by which large amounts of information obtained through multiple channels are collected, studied and analyzed.  

The interesting thing is that Big Data refers to an extreme volume of data that can be very varied and of many types and that requires great speed and capacity to be processed. As in any study, it is essential that the data analyzed by Big Data be truthful; only then can value be obtained from the results offered by its analysis.  

Índice

  1. How Big Data works
  2. What is Big Data for and why is it so important for a company?
  3. Examples of how to use Big Data

How Big Data works

 

New technologies allow us to obtain data from any activity or process. Companies receive large volumes of information, from machinery sensors to interaction through different channels with customers, suppliers and collaborators. Big Data is responsible for processing all this information regardless of its volume, origin or type, and obtaining useful information, analyzing and comparing it.

To be able to work with such an amount of information, considerable hardware power is required, which means that the investment in infrastructure is high. Cloud Computing has made it easier for companies to access powerful process infrastructures at a reduced cost, allowing them to undertake their Big Data projects more easily.

What is Big Data for and why is it so important for a company?

 

By studying large volumes of information, companies can better understand their customers (needs, tastes, intentions) and are able to detect market trends that allow them to make faster and more accurate decisions.  

The main advantages for a company of Big Data are the following:

  • It allows you to establish marketing strategies intelligently, which optimally meet the established objectives.  

  • Improves decision making. With a deeper and more realistic knowledge of the market, decisions will be made in a much more agile and accurate way, which will result in greater productivity.  

  • With predictive analytics it is possible to identify new business opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.

Examples of how to use Big Data

Let’s see how Big Data works with some examples:

  • Systems to optimize inventory that are based on Big Data manage to optimize stock management by avoiding breakages, optimizing orders and making the supply chain more effective, ensuring that customers will always have product availability.  

  • The study of customer behavior within a large store makes it possible to optimize the distribution of shelves and products to increase sales and improve the purchasing process.  

  • The management of smart cities by analyzing the large amount of data that citizens share makes it possible to offer services to them in a simpler and more efficient way (most requested procedures or intelligent management of traffic lights, to give some examples).