As the name may suggest, big data analytics focuses on examining large data amounts in order to uncover correlations, hidden patterns, and other insights. Present day’s technology makes it possible analyzing your data almost immediately and getting answers from it instantly. With most traditional business intelligence solution this effort used to be less efficient and slower.

Big Data Analytics’ History And Evolution

Most organizations just understand now that it is necessary to capture all the data streaming into their businesses in order to apply analytics and extract significant value from it, even if the concept of big data has been around for years. However, even back in the 1950s, businesses were using basic analytics.

This was, in fact, several decades before anyone used the term “big data”. At that time businesses were using essentially some numbers in a spreadsheet and examined them manually in order to uncover insights and trends.

Big data analytics brings new benefits to the table. Among them, the most important are efficiency and speed. A business would have gathered information a few years ago and run analytics in order to use it for future decisions. However, that business can identify today some insights in order to take immediate decisions. Organizations have a competitive edge they didn’t have before due to the ability to stay agile and work faster.

Why Big Data Analytics Is So Important?

Big data analytics support organizations in their efforts to harness and use their data to identify new opportunities. In turn, that can lead to more efficient operations, smarter business moves, happier customers and higher profits. IIA Director of Research Tom Davenport published his report Big Data in Big Companies in which he interviewed over 50 businesses in order to understand the way they used big data. Here is what he found:

Cost reduction

Faster, better decision making

New products and services

How Big Data Analytics Is Used In Today’s World

In today’s world, most organizations have big data. Many already understand the necessity to harness that data in order to extract the best value from it. But launching a big data initiative requires redesigning data and systems, as well as educating the people.

Big data analytics is most used in the following fields:

Health care

Travel and hospitality

Government

Banks

Key Big Data Analytics Technologies

Big data analytics is not encompassed by a single technology but rather there are several types of technology work together in order to help organizations to get the most value from their information. Here are the most important technologies that have a role in big data analytics: