Big data continues to transform business. By harnessing the increasing volume of data, organizations can use it to fuel innovation: discovering new opportunities, increasing efficiencies, and driving down costs.  

Yet capturing all the data that flows into an organization is challenging to manage – particularly for enterprises that deal with larger data supplies, with much of it being updated in real time. 

We live in a world with so much data that some analysts have even determined that we’ve entered a new era of human history: the Zettabyte Era. It’s pushing data centers to their limits. And traditional processing methods cannot handle it. 

Two-thirds of businesses are reporting that they have too much data to analyze. And within enterprises, up to 73% of their data goes unused for analytics, according to Forrester. Not only does this translate into lost insight and revenue but storing increasing amounts of data costs money. 

Let’s explore some of the ways in which big data is affecting the business world, and what companies can do to take advantage of this powerful resource. 

Big data is creating insight-driven enterprises 

One of the most important ways in which big data is impacting companies is through the ability to make more informed decisions. By collecting and analyzing large sets of data from a variety of sources, companies can gain valuable new insights and identify trends that would have been impossible to detect using traditional methods. 

As McKinsey puts it, “growth champions systematically amplify people power with data, analytics, and technology. They don’t just generate new insights – they take a holistic view and systematically set the prerequisites in place to turn those insights into actual impact.” 

This allows organizations to make more accurate predictions about the entire business landscape, from customer behavior and market conditions to other key factors that affect business. 

Big data is driving efficiencies through automation 

Big data is helping organizations increase efficiency by automating many of the processes that were previously done manually. For example, by analyzing customer data, companies can create more personalized marketing campaigns, improve customer retention, and bolster brand loyalty.  

On the supply chain side of things, organizations can better identify bottlenecks and optimize their logistics by analyzing data on supply chain operations, helping to cut down on costs, maintain efficiencies, and increase revenue. 

Research from Forbes found that combining big data and AI technologies can automate 80% of all physical work, 70% of data processing, and 64% of data collection tasks. 

Big data can help fight against fraud 

A third key benefit of big data is its ability to detect and prevent fraud. By analyzing large sets of financial data, companies can identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate fraudulent activity. This can help to protect the company’s assets and reputation, while also reducing the cost of dealing with fraud. 

On average, 6.5% of the income and expenditure of companies is lost because of fraud, according to academic research. Using big data for fraud detection can shift the standard business model and create the conditions for more efficient and effective ways to monitor and detect suspicious activity across supply chains, financial transactions, and markets. 

What does this all mean?  

It’s important to understand that big data is only useful when it can be understood and acted upon. Looking for meaning upon a mountain of raw data is as arduous as it seems. 

So, companies need to ensure that they have the right tools and expertise in place to not only make sense of the data but leverage it to identify actionable insight. This includes investing in specialized software and hiring data scientists to help analyze and interpret the data.  

It may also include investment in infrastructure and hardware to store, process, and manage the large amounts of data that they collect. 

Through our data services, ArganoConnect builds the data architecture to facilitate enhanced data collection and management – whether it’s establishing enterprise data warehouses or creating more impactful data visualizations. This feeds businesses with actionable insight to drive better decision-making. 

When Maritz, a leader in the sales and marketing industry, was faced with aging hardware and increasingly complex system processes. We brought the company’s applications into modernity with a cloud-based solution that included automation and integrations to improve data quality with a new user interface to better visualize the data. 

By providing new insights and allowing for more accurate predictions, big data is helping companies to make better decisions, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. To take full advantage of this powerful resource, companies need to invest in the right tools, expertise, and infrastructure. 

If you’re looking to make better use of your data, connect with us!