Big Data Analytics: What it is and Why it Matters?

Big data is no longer just a buzzword, it is now a business necessity that has the potential to revolutionize how companies operate. The ability to use data more effectively and efficiently is one of the most exciting opportunities opened up by big data.

These days, businesses are collecting more data than ever before from a variety of sources, from social media and email marketing to IoT sensors, mobile apps, website analytics, and even customer loyalty programs.

What most people don’t realize about this glut of information is that it’s useless unless you know how to analyze it and find value in it. Fortunately, there are ways to harness big data so you can take your company to new heights.

Read on for some useful insights into how you can use big data analytics to your advantage.

What is Big Data Analytics?

Big data analytics refers to the process of examining and interpreting large amounts of data to uncover insights that will help businesses achieve their objectives.

Data scientists use different algorithms and models to discover patterns and trends in the data, which can then be used to guide business decisions. This process is sometimes referred to as data mining, particularly when a computer is used to automatically sort through large datasets to identify insights.

In terms of the process itself, big data analytics can be broken down into four steps.

• Data is collected from various sources
• It’s cleaned up and organized
• It’s analyzed and interpreted
• The insights are applied to business decisions

Big Data can be structured or unstructured and it is often used to enable businesses to make sense of complex information in real-time, enabling them to make more quick, rational decisions.

Depending on how you frame the discussion, big data analytics can be viewed in a variety of ways.

Is Big Data Analytics Right for You?

Since the dawn of computers, companies have been exploring ways to make use of various types of data to drive business success. However, what’s new is that now businesses are making more use of big data analytics than ever before.

It’s important to note that businesses have always used data for business decisions, but the sheer volume of data that businesses are now collecting has created an enormous data trove that companies can now turn into actionable insights.

Big data analytics has evolved into a key business strategy for companies of all sizes. The global big data market is forecasted to grow to 103 billion U.S. dollars by 2027, more than double its expected market size in 2018.

That’s a pretty big opportunity, but how can you take advantage of it?

We all know that big data is growing exponentially and will continue to do so in the near future. The challenge has been figuring out how to leverage that information in order to drive business results.

It’s no longer enough to simply collect your company’s data. You need to be able to turn that information into actionable insights that can help you more effectively serve your customers, drive sales, and streamline operations.

Big data is one of the most exciting opportunities opened up by big data analytics. With so much data already on hand, and more on the way, businesses have the power to do things that were never possible before. But how do you make sense of this mountain of data?

How Does Big Data Analytics Work?

Big data analytics is not a one-time process. It is a continuous process that should be used throughout your company’s lifecycle. It is a way of thinking as well as a way of acting.

The goal of big data analytics is to find new insights from large volumes of data in order to better understand your customers, make better business decisions, and maximize return on investment.

Let’s now take a closer look at how you can use big data analytics to your advantage as an operator.

Define the Problem

• The first step is to clearly identify the problem at hand. In the case of big data analytics, the problem is how to make the most of your data.
• You will need to determine how you want to use the data, what data you want to use, and how much data you want to use.

Collect the Data

• Once you’ve decided what data you want to use, you will need to collect it.
• You can collect data from a variety of sources, including website analytics, social media, email marketing campaigns, and more.

Clean the Data

• After collecting the data, you must clean it up.
• You don’t want to use data that has been tampered with or otherwise manipulated. You want to use only raw, unfiltered data.

Organize the Data

• Once you’ve cleaned the data, you must organize it.
• You want to make sure that it’s easily accessible and can be used to make better business decisions.

Analyze the Data

• This is when you will use algorithms and models to interpret the data.
• You will use this data to uncover insights that will help you make better decisions.

Apply the Insights to Business Decisions

• Now that you have all this new information, you must apply it to your business decisions.
• You will be able to make better decisions based on your new data.

Data scientists must be part of the team from the very beginning. If you wait until the middle of the project to bring them on board, you will not be able to fully realize the potential of big data analytics.

Benefits of Big Data Analytics

There are numerous potential benefits of using big data analytics. It allows you to see the bigger picture, uncover hidden insights, increase productivity, and maximize ROI.

Here are a few reasons why you should be using big data analytics. It helps you to:

Understand Your Customers

• Big data analytics will help you see the bigger picture related to your customers.
• You will be able to understand their needs, wants, and desires better than ever before. You will know what they respond to, what they don’t respond to, and why they do or don’t engage with your brand.

Identify New Marketing Opportunities

• The same goes for your marketing campaigns.
• You will be able to see which campaigns are working and which aren’t. You will be able to identify new opportunities that you may have otherwise missed.

Generate New Revenue

• You will be able to make more informed decisions that lead to more customers purchasing from you.
• This will lead to more revenue for you.

Reduce Costs

• Along with generating new revenue, you will be able to reduce costs as well by cutting out campaigns that are ineffective.

Predict the Future

• You will be able to forecast what will happen in the future based on what’s happening right now.
• This will allow you to make most of the opportunities before your competitors.

Make Better Business Decisions

• Big data analytics helps you make better decisions in all aspects of your business.
• You will have access to more information, and you will make better use of what you already have.

When used effectively, big data analytics has the potential to revolutionize how companies operate. However, it requires a significant amount of work.

The key to success is making sure that you have a comprehensive understanding of what needs to be done, as well as a solid plan for executing it. It’s also important to have a team in place that can work towards making big data analytics success for your company.

Absent these three things, big data analytics won’t yield the benefits you want.

Challenges of Big Data Analytics

The concept of big data analytics has grown so rapidly in the last few years and is poised to take over the world of business, particularly in sales, marketing, and product development departments.

However, despite the benefits that big data analytics brings, there are many challenges associated with the process of collecting and analyzing such large sets of information.

Lack of Qualified Data Scientists

• One challenge that is often discussed is the lack of qualified data scientists.
• There is a shortage of people who understand how to best use data, especially in the field of big data analytics.

Wrong Data

• Another challenge is having the wrong data.
• You want to make sure that you are using the right data at the right time. You don’t want to use old data when new data is available.

Over-Reliance on Data

• Another common mistake is over-reliance on data.
• You don’t want to put too much trust in the data because it is only an interpretation of what’s happening.

Lack of Trust in the Data

• This is another common mistake.
• You must have trust in the data or you won’t be able to use it effectively. Therefore, you must have trust in the data analysis process.

One of the most important things to remember about big data analytics is that you need a large amount of data in order for it to be useful. If you don’t have enough data, then any conclusions you draw from your analysis will not be very accurate or helpful.

How Can Businesses Make the Most of Big Data Analytics?

As we’ve discussed, big data analytics is a continuous process that must begin before the project starts. You must hire data scientists as part of your team as soon as possible.

Once the project has begun, there are a few steps you can do to make the most of big data analytics.

1. Assessing your needs is the first step. You must understand what you want to achieve and what data you want to use to get there.
2. Once you’ve figured out what you want to achieve, you must choose the right tools to manage the data. You will need to find a way to organize and clean the data so it can be easily accessed and used.
3. Now that you have the right tools in place, you must create a data governance plan. This plan will outline how the data will be used, who will use it, and how it will be used.
4. Next, you must create a data roadmap. This roadmap will outline how the data will be collected, cleaned, organized, and analyzed.
5. As soon as you’ve created a data roadmap, you must make data accessible to everyone. This will help ensure that the data is being used to its full potential.

Businesses today are looking for more ways to analyze data, which can help them understand their market better and improve performance. This has led to the creation of a new era of Big Data Analytics. Learn more about the topic by pursuing relevant big data training.

We recommend you to read our blog on Big Data Certifications that Can Help You Advance In Your Career Path.

The Bottom Line

A business owner who is struggling to make important business decisions is probably not making the best use of their data. No one ever said being a business owner was easy, and it often involves making important business decisions based on limited information.

Companies that realize that they need to start thinking more like data scientists are in a better position to make the best use of their data to drive business decisions and achieve their goals.

It’s important to note that big data analytics is not a magical solution that you can use to solve all your business problems. It’s simply one piece of a larger data-driven puzzle that includes data analysis, data visualization, and data modeling.

If you don’t have the data to start with, you won’t be able to use big data analytics effectively. You need to have a solid data management strategy in place before you begin using big data analytics – checkout our course on Cloudera Data Analyst to learn to manage data effectively. If you do, you will see amazing results.