Technology has solutions to most of our problems that we even do not know existed. When we make decisions, we require accurate data to analyze before we can generate positive results. For accurate data, we need relevant information from the Internet of things or IOT and the ability to analyze it. All the activities we perform on the Internet are valuable for generating information. Such raw information and data is big data
What is Big Data
Big data was available before we even find a term for it. Every business collects various information about its employees, such as their attendance, performance, time schedule, etc. to evaluate their efforts and productivity. They can also compare their employees based on performance and decide the best performer of the month.
Now, imagine this on a much larger scale and global level. For every activity that we perform on the Internet, websites collect this data in huge chunks to observe human behavior and other important information. In short, big data is the collective data from a variety of IoT and sources, in huge volumes and with higher velocity.
Three Common Vs of Big Data
With big data, we can open doors to new opportunities and answer complex questions. To understand the concept even better, we divide big data’s propertiesinto three common terms. These three Vs will help us understand why big data is different from the traditional method for collecting data and how to measure the data. The three Vs of Big Data are:
1. Volume
The volume of data that is stored every second is more than we can imagine. For instance, imagine how many pictures you have on your Facebook profiles. Now imagine how many photographs Facebook users uploaded in the third quarter of 2020. More than 2.7 million users were active on Facebook during this duration (Source).
Data comes from all over the world through different channels and platforms. Today, we have collected 300 times more data than in 2005. The amount of data stored in a single day is enormous. Every individual and company, industry and organization, government institution, or private firm uses the Internet for personal and business uses. All data stored each second make up big data.
2. Velocity
As the data grows and we develop new platforms and frameworks to collect the data, we are now seeing information differently. Before the Internet was popular, we used to collect and analyze data differently. Those traditional methods were slow and required a lot of space to store even a small amount of data. Since we changed the methods of collecting the data, our usage of information has increased. In big data, analysts rely on velocity to measure how fast data comes in. Various resources or IOT instantly share the information and store data in real-time. However, many sources of data collection gather the data and share it in bundles.
3. Variety
Previously we used to store data on papers. We did not have any digital presence. However, as we have new options to collect data, you can find numerous resources. Some examples include posts, pictures, videos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many other platforms. Then, we have messages, emails, voice notes, spreadsheets, etc. So Big Data accumulates a massive amount of data.
How Does the Big Data Works
Any technology that you use or you do not use is consistently collecting data from your side. When you share a picture on the Internet or when you shop online, big data accumulate that information every day. The data comprises how much you browse on the Internet, what websites you visit, what pages you stay on, how much time you take going through each page, and what you see currently on your screen. Everything is collected as data through IoT as a major source. Big data majorly collects the data in three of the following steps:
· Integrate
Big data collects data from various sources. Traditional methods are obsolete to collect a variety of data in huge volumes at higher velocity through extracting, transforming, and loading. There are new technologies and methods to process big data with the size of terabytes and petabytes.
· Manage
Big data goes into various storage locations. Cloud is the most popular solution in 2020. Cloud allows you to store the data in any format and use the data whenever and wherever you need. However, you can decide from different options to store your data. The reason why the cloud is popular as you can commute your data and even access the data from different-IoT.
· Analyze
You can avail of the benefits of big data for various tasks through insight and other options. View your data with new data sets, depending on how you will be using the data. Make new inventions and also predict the future through various forms of big data. Moreover, share your data with others so that they can utilize the findings for their tasks.
Benefits of Big Data
Big data helps us make confident decisions, answer questions, predict the future, and optimize and understand the process of various activities through relevant data. There isn’t a limited way to utilize big data. Different industries and groups of people can benefit from the data in various ways. Furthermore, people are still exploring and introducing new methods and techniques to use bid data for their benefits. Here are some of the know benefits of big data:
1. Saving Time
Big data helps in saving a lot of time in processing the data. Furthermore, you can generate insights with a few clicks. With Big Data, you can work efficiently and faster. Previously people use to spend a lot of time searching, collecting, and sifting through data. Now, they can use that time to simply make decisions. When you have data, you will require less time to conclude something.
2. Reducing Costs
Big data helps minimize the cost and improve the success rate of the business. You can rely on various Big Data technologies to store large data. These technologies, such as Hadoop, Tableau, and Amazon Web Services, are productive and cost less than traditional methods of collecting and viewing data.
3. New Product and Service Development
You can understand consumer behavior and analyze their interests to find a solution to their problems through your product or services. Big data supports you with accurate data about what your target audience is experiencing and requires so that you can complete the market gap and provide a solution to their problem.
4. Solving Problems
You can solve your customer problems and find a solution to their questions and queries instantly. Big Data generates the data collected from the world. As the data is integrated properly, you can divide different results for better understandings.
5. Understanding the Market
Big data helps you to understand the market conditions so that you can make effective decisions. You can also predict the chances of the success of your product or service. With proper and clear insights, you can understand the trend in the market and also understand your consumer or target audience.
Conclusion
Big Data and IoT collectively can provide new opportunities and inventions in the market. All the data collected by the Big Data technology works through various frameworks. You need to understand how you can extract the data and construct the insights through these applications. However, there are numerous ways to utilize those insights.
