We live in an unprecedented era of technology. We use our phones and laptops for everything. We conduct online shopping, order food delivery, watch movies and tv shows on our gadgets. And all of that gets recorded as data. Businesses can then use this data to show ads specific to your interests.
What is Big Data?
Big data is an enormous collection of data growing in size every day, with more than two quintillion bytes of data generated. The following are some examples of big data:
- The New York Stock Exchange – 1+ terabyte of trade data generated every day
- Social Media – over 500 terabytes of new data generated every day on Facebook alone
There are also several types of big data:
- Structured
- Unstructured
- Semi-Structured
Structured
Structured data is easy to understand and analyze, has a pre-defined format, and has a specific purpose. A common example of structured data is excel files.
Unstructured
Unstructured data is raw data. It is not organized and does not have a pre-defined format. In addition, unstructured data is harder to understand and analyze.
Semi-Structured
Semi-structured data is a mixture of both structured and unstructured data.
What is Data Analytics?
Data analytics is the process of analyzing a business’s data to help them stay competitive in the market.
Data Analytics Industry Overlook
The data analytics industry is a fast-growing industry. Industry leaders in every field hire professionals to help them take advantage of their data. However, the demand for competent data professionals is far beyond the supply. Therefore, companies pay lucrative contracts to hire experts and professionals. If you are interested in data analytics as a career, you should enroll yourself in a Data Analytics Master’s Program online, especially if you’re already working full time.
Why is Data Analytics Crucial to Business Success?
There are many reasons why data analytics is crucial to a business’s success. We have mentioned the most important ones below.
Understanding Customer’s Needs
Nowadays, businesses can use data to bring in new customers and retain old ones. However, they must understand what they need. A business’s network traffic is a gold mine of valuable data that can help understand customers better.
Every day customers shift their priorities and change their needs. Data can allow businesses to adjust to these changes and remain agile.
It can also allow businesses to operate in real-time and respond to any change in customer behavior appropriately. There are concerns about how much of people’s data is out there, but the truth is people do not care. They want businesses to know what they want and need. They want a seamless experience.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Businesses can use data to make informed business decisions to stay competitive. Data-driven decision-making can improve operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness and generate new revenue. It can also lead to greater transparency and accountability within the organization. They have to be accountable for managing their data properly for record-keeping and compliance. Also, they have to prioritize every piece of information, set concrete goals based on data, and measure performance accordingly, leading to greater transparency.
Data can also help businesses become more precise. Businesses can use it to test out different strategies and find out what works best. It also increases the speed of decision-making within organizations. Businesses can have greater confidence in their decisions made using reliable data.
Create Ads Specific to Target Audience
Businesses can use data to tailor their ads for products/services to their target audience. It will result in interest from people who want or need the products/ services the business provides. Data also help businesses understand which ads have the most impact on the target audience. Also, it can help them understand how much they can scale the ads that are performing well.
Businesses can also use data to understand the costs of manufacturing products/services and their possible impact on the audience. In addition, data shows which products/services are performing. Businesses can use this data to create products customers are interested in, which will lead to the generation of sales. Lastly, data can help businesses determine how much they should charge for their products/services to generate the most sales.
Constant Innovation
For businesses to stay relevant in the market, they must proactively innovate newer products for their customer base. Data can help identify customer feedback, product success stories, and what the competition is doing. It can also help identify possible future trends based on current customer behavior. It can lead to businesses designing futuristic products that drive customers’ interest.
Mitigate Risks
Businesses are constantly at risk of losing money. It could be due to lawsuits or terrible marketing strategies. Data can help identify the potential risks that can hurt the company. Businesses can also use data to create plans for risk mitigation and management.
Additionally, businesses can use the intelligence obtained from data to take positive risks that lead to growth. Lastly, data can help detect any fraudulent activity. It will keep the employees accountable for their actions.
Solve Problems
Businesses have to deal with a lot of problems on a daily basis. They can incur huge losses if these problems are not dealt with swiftly. Data can help organizations make informed decisions by providing information on avoiding situations that can incur losses. It can also detect any malfunction in the system and provide possible solutions. Lastly, most losses occur due to mistakes from employees as they do not have enough information. Data allows them to make decisions based on hard facts and takes the guesswork out of the game.
Conclusion
Every day humans generate enormous amounts of data through technological devices. This data is critical to every business’s success. Businesses use this data to try and build trust and loyalty among their target audience. To do so, they need data professionals who can analyze data and convert it into actionable intelligence. Due to the increasing need to understand data, the demand for data professionals is far more than the supply. Therefore, companies are paying top-dollar contracts even at the entry-level to hire data professionals. The data analytics industry has many roles for those interested in pursuing a career as data professionals.
