2.2.11 Big data analytics
Big data applications receive information from a wide array of data sources, including PCs, smartphones, tablets, machines, sensors, social media, and multimedia applications. Much of this growth in data is due to mobile devices, as shown in the figure. Mobility enables anytime, anywhere, any device, and any content-user engagement.
Big data refers to the way in which organisations collect and analyse vast stores of data for insights that can help identify trends, predict behaviour, and empower decision makers. It considers:
- how much data is generated
- how this data is identified and managed as an asset to the organisation
- how this data is turned into usable information
- how organisations use this data to make decisions.
Ask yourself, what happens when we share information or an opinion about a business on a social network? How is this information propagated? Who gets this information? And more importantly, how are businesses reacting and using this information to create new customer connections?