Big Data- it’s taking over!
Companies are consistently confronted with change, and one of the key aspects of a successful company is their ability to adapt to change and embrace it. One of the biggest factors effecting companies in this generation is technology- for example the introduction of the internet. The last buzzword in the world of technology was ‘mobile’. Everything was going mobile whether it was a phone, computer, PlayStation etc. The latest buzz word is ‘Big data’ and this is a massive one that’s going to be a game changer. Big Data is our next frontier for innovation, but what is it? Big Data can be difficult to pin-point a definition for but it’s basically our ability to collect and analyse the enormous amounts of data we are generating in the world. Our ability to extract such vast amounts of information is transforming the way we look at the world and how we understand it.
Think about reading a book- in the past, no external data was gathered. Today on a Kindle information is gathered on how often you read, what you read, and how long it takes you to read.
Your smart phone collects information on where you are, what you’re listening to, how often you listen to it, what apps you use, what websites you visit, and who you contact.
Combine all of this information with the vast amounts of web searches, wall posts, likes and comments on Facebook, the 400+ million tweets sent on Twitter per day and the 72 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute- and there you have it: BIG DATA.
- More than likely you have heard of Wal-Mart, a company from the United States. Wal-Mart are able to take information from your previous buying habits, their stock information, social media, your mobile phone location, and external weather information and analyse this in a matter of seconds so that it may contact you with an offer via text for a barbecue cleaner- but only if your phone says your within a 3 mile radius of a Wal-Mart, that has it in stock, it’s sunny out, and you have purchased a barbecue previously. It’s a custom tailored advertisement- but it didn’t require someone sitting at a computer and looking you up. It’s automated.
- Another example is Tesco who now has what they call Clubcard TV. Similar to Netflix, this is an online service that will allow you to watch shows and movies. The purpose is to mine data from its loyalty card program to enable brands to customize advertising based on the individuals spending patterns.
It’s quite scary how much information they are able to gather about you, and how personal the buying experience is going to become- or is becoming. It will be interesting to see how companies further use big data in order to compete.
That’s all from 4pm today! Let us know your thoughts on BIG DATA!!