Big data is, well, big business. It’s believed over the next four years, over two billion people will be utilizing personal cloud storage at a capacity of 1.7 gigabytes per user per month. The cloud will gradually become the standard method of storage for both personal and professional needs, minimizing the use of everything from physical servers to flash drives.
The cloud is expected to take the forefront in a lot more than storage. Here are five major big data predictions that will be with us in the workplace long beyond 2017.
Training
eLearning companies were among the first industries to take full advantage of the cloud. Through mobile learning management systems, they provide exceptional tools that have transformed onboarding and training for companies and employees in every way. The cloud has given every employer great opportunities to create and customize training to fit specific needs and goals. The tech lets the employer design training unique to each individual employee. Employees can log in, pause sessions, pick up during their commute, and take the exam at home.
Content
The cloud has significantly altered the way we create, edit, share, and present content. The once mighty Microsoft and Corel office staples are taking a step back as services like Google Drive make documentation, saving, and transmitting files easy tasks. We’re no longer relegated to creating a document, saving it, sending it via email, waiting for the recipient’s review, comments, and edits before sending it back. Now, multiple persons can be given access to a document and work on it at the same time in real time. The simplification in collaboration is making the cloud the primary way to work.
Remote Work
The ability to work remotely will continue to change the way operations are conducted. Cloud tech has made a huge difference in working at the office and working from another location. As the practice grows, more and more employers are testing it. In a surprising shift, a huge portion of the modern workforce has never physically met their managers or colleagues. The great advantage to the employer is the cloud has shattered regional boundaries. They can recruit and hire the best employee even if that person lives outside their geographic boundaries.
Self-Service
Many organizations will be looking for analytic resources that will not require on-site experts. Employers will want tools that allow their professionals to service their own needs without a data specialist. Vendors will respond with new generation big data tools that are incredibly user-friendly. The tools will manage simple creation of data with familiar features like drop-and-drag. According to IDC, by 2020, expect self-service discovery and the data preparation market to expand at least twice as fast as traditional IT tools with similar functionality. Enterprises can expect agility, operational efficiency and an enhancement in competitive advantage with big data projects.
Artificial Intelligence
As big data analytics grow, vendors and providers will look for ways to distinguish themselves. One way may be through AI (artificial intelligence), essentially machine and deep learning technologies. 2016 saw AI solutions hit the workplace in significant numbers. Big data analytic applications were just one of the areas where developers were integrating AI. 2016 saw some amazing advances in AI like Google’s DeepMind. There was also the announcement that giants Facebook, IBM and Amazon would partner in AI development. It has been estimated that over the coming 12 months, investment in AI will triple as AI moves into more complex systems, machine learning and advanced analytics.
Seeing the great advantages of prior investment in the tech prompts a desire for expansion with the possibility of greater financial results and business success. Expect primary trends in big data throughout the coming year to center around organizations of all types refining and solidifying their big data facilities. Big data providers will develop better and greater ways to analyze and move data faster.
While there are still challenges surrounding security and privacy, the digital world is still expected to move forward in big data. In everything from AI to building a strong workforce on mobility and remote location, expect big data to grow in leaps and bounds.
