Back to the future with big data

What if you could predict the future? What if markets had access to information that would have helped prevent the financial crisis in 2008?

What if you could make better business decisions based on the analysis of enormous volumes of information and the secrets it hides?

The power of Big Data

That is the power of Big Data; to understand history, consumer behaviour and market activity so well that you will be able to anticipate – or predict, to a large degree – the future.

But before we explore the implementation of Big Data analytics, let us first understand exactly what it is.

Big Data is commonly defined as the use of analytics to extract value from large volumes of data, leading to calculated decision making; which in turn results in greater operational efficiency, cost reduction and reduced risk.

Historical existence

Data has been around forever, and we have accumulated it and summarised it in a structured manner with defined fields in a spreadsheet.

However, when there is unstructured data, it becomes really exciting as you introduce audio, video and email where the nuances of language come into play.

With Big Data, we are now able to analyse both the structured and unstructured data.

Real life examples

But what does that implementation look like in real life? Here are a few examples:

• Several retail organisations in the US and the UK are monitoring social network feeds to get a better view of customer behaviour, preferences, and product perception. A short-term insurer in the Netherlands use social media Big Data analytics to give its customers individually priced premiums based on their behaviour and activities;
• There are a handful of manufacturers that are monitoring data from their equipment, which systematically gets worn, to predict the optimal time to replace or maintain. Rolls Royce is an excellent example of this, as the sensors in their aircraft engines alert the engineers when they are in need of maintenance (or replacing) – imagine having spare parts ready before the plane even lands;
• Hospitals are analysing medical data and patient records to predict those patients who are likely to seek readmission within a few months of discharge. The hospital can then intervene and in that way try and prevent another costly hospital stay;
• We see a few sports teams who are using big data to not only track ticket sales to build better engagement strategies; they are even using the data to track opposing team strategies; and
• There is the Morton Steakhouse case study, which is both a social media and Big Data gem. When a customer jokingly tweeted the Chicago-based steakhouse chain and requested that dinner be sent to the Newark Airport, where he would be getting in late after a long day of work, Morton's became a player in a social media stunt heard around the internet. The restaurant saw the tweet, discovered he was a frequent customer and frequent tweeter. They pulled data on what he typically ordered, figured out which flight he was on, and then sent a tuxedo-clad delivery person to serve him his dinner.

Embracing Big Data

Today, businesses around the world are embracing Big Data and the opportunities it can provide. It reveals the unknown, and redirects our thinking to enhance customer centricity.

Business leaders are relying more on the mathematical precision Big Data analysis offers, as opposed to good old fashioned intuition.

In the financial services industry, Big Data and mechanised analysis through machine learning means businesses can make more accurate decisions, ultimately lowering risk.

It is clear that Big Data is no longer just a buzzword; it’s ubiquitous, industry agnostic, and it seems that its only limit is that of the human imagination.