Big data and analytics are changing the way the world works. They are changing the business landscape, revolutionizing how services are delivered, information is gathered, and marketing is done.
A few decades ago, a sample size of a thousand or two thousand people may already be a high target. Market research takes a lot of research after all. Two thousand responses may take several weeks or even a couple of months to be tabulated, summarized and finally presented to management. From the findings, the business’ marketing team would draw up a strategy, design products, and pattern their approach based on the results.
This method will no longer work today in the advent of Big data analytics. Every day, around 2.5 quintillion bytes are created and shared over the internet. This staggering amount of information will make the 2,000 responses negligible but oftentimes, left unobserved and unanalyzed. Information comes from both external and internal sources and will have a practical use for businesses and governments alike. Big data comes from content produced in social media, audio and video posts, transaction data, log posts, and email exchanges. But how should businesses take advantage of it?
Big data organizes a large amount of information so that business can make better management decisions, understand consumers better, and improve the efficiency of operations. Of course, it takes expertise to do it well. Some companies have reported problems with an overload of information, storage costs, and lack of ideas on how to utilize the information for better insight. This shows that big data is only effective when managed well.
Some companies and industries have broken the code and started benefiting from utilizing big data. Some of these industries are:
Reducing Costs in Healthcare
Aggregate data on the human genome, eating habits, lifestyle choices, medical history has already made a lot of difference in the healthcare industry. Experts have already predicted that the increase in revenue may amount to $300 billion! Healthcare professionals and businesses can make produce personalized treatment programs based on medical histories. They will also be able to better decide where to concentrate research and development to help and serve more clients. Big data also allows for the creation of a centralized data center to compile patient records allowing for better access to medical history and improved care for the patient. It will also be possible to design more apps that can help people prevent or give first aid to common problems if information is readily available on their smartphones. Finally, fraudulent insurance claims may be reduced to arrest losses for both insurance companies and hospitals.
Related article: Three Innovative Ways How Big Data Will Improve the Healthcare Industry
Optimizing Hotel Pricing
The drop in travel costs has also made hotel businesses boom as there are more people who are looking to temporarily rent units. Duetto is a company that has helped hotel owners capitalize on this trend by creating a Saas program that helps hotels with pricing. They do this by gathering data about flight times and demands, weather patterns, holidays, and other such relevant data to determine the most optimal price for the hotel per day based on the expected demand. They have been very effective, seeing an increase in the revenue by 10 to 20 percent.
Sustaining Sustainable Energy
GE has been successful in optimizing the generation of renewable energy by linking their turbines to machine learning programs. Gathering information on turbine performance over time has allowed them to make the necessary adjustments to save costs and make the most of the time to collect more power. This strategy has delivered more than $100M in value for the company.
Related article: Three Examples of Big Data Applied in Energy Analytics
Improving Logistics
UPS has made a reputation by being on time. They are able to maintain that operation and automate most processes by using a software that predicts the most efficient paths for their delivery vehicles and men, allowing them to make fewer stops, save costs, and make more deliveries per day.
Big data is changing the world, and any business owner who fails to adapt will have a hard time competing in this new, reinvented playing field.
