Every organization, either large or small manage a considerable amount of data in their systems. This data is being generated from different business endpoints to be used for different purposes. For example, data from customers can be collected and analyzed using excel data management tools to create more insights on how user experience can be increased. Although this data can be handled using these data management tools, at times, the amount of data collected can be so huge and cannot fit in such tools. In this case, big data and analytics are used. Big data refers to the vast collection of data that can be used to extract valuable information that benefits a given business. Many organizations are investing in advanced tools to manage big data and derive meaningful insights that can help achieve a competitive advantage.
Although the concept of big data is new to many organizations, other leading companies are leveraging it to generate meaningful information used to make informed decisions. Big data can be defined into 3Vs which are volume, velocity, and variety. Organizations utilizing the concept of big data must strategies their goals based on the 3Vs of big data. Volume can be defined as the amount of data collected for processing. With today’s new communication platforms such as websites and social media platforms, organizations can obtain a massive amount of information which sometimes can be incomprehensible. Variety is the different types of data collected for a specific purpose. For example, an organization can use their websites to collect data regarding how its customers are using a given software. They can also use system logs to find more on the usability of that particular product and how best it can be improved to meets the need of its customers. Velocity is the speed at which such amount of data can be processed and used to create more benefits to an organization.
Organizations can leverage the power of big data by incorporating the 3Vs of big data into their business objectives. That is, when organizations are trying to create or improve their products, they must first align the steps they will take to the definitions of big data. They must understand that massive amount of information from different sources can help in improving their services. They must ensure that they invest in new analytical tools and technologies such as Hadoop to enhance management of big data and get correct and meaningful insights.