I’m sure you have been hearing Big Data buzz for the last while now. With increasing volume and variety of data available, it is easy to see that analysis of large datasets can uncover patterns, linkages and correlations that may be useful. It’s true, everyone is doing it.
It is for a good reason too; there is much value in it.
Let’s take a look at the case of connected cities. Barcelona has been labelled
as “The Most Wired City in the World” by Fortune magazine. Just look at a
sample list of some of the technologies that have been implemented here:
- Lamp posts with sensors & Wi-Fi, capable of measuring noise, traffic, pollution, crowd levels AND the number of selfies posted nearby
- Digital chips on garbage containers to indicate when they fill up
- Sensors under each parking spot
Of course, smart cities are just barely off the ground. The
potential is very large in increasing efficiency and preventive measures. The energy
and human labour cost savings are estimated to be about $17 Billion by 2019.
Much of the newly opened up potential stems from the ability
to gather data and make decisions based on the analyzed information. Take a
moment to think how having this data would be able to assist from an oversight
perspective. Police can be dispatched based on increased noise levels in the
area; traffic lights can learn the current traffic levels and any unusual
slow-downs caused by accidents and adjust the timing to aid movement. These are
just examples of simple intuitive solutions.
Let’s take this a step further. Picture Barcelona, but below
the surface. There are underground fiber optic cables, separately run by each
telecommunication company, each running below their full capacity. With varying
demand, there are times when these are using only 5% of their capacity. Lastly,
consider the fact companies don’t have an insight into what capacity others are
running. However, now the solution is to knit the solutions into one system to
allow monitoring of the capacity from each company and efficient re-routing of
capacity as per the business need. This results in less underground work (each
company will not need to dig and install a new cable), less costs for the
company and increased monitoring of the demand.
We can go on and on about the capabilities of having various
data for profit and efficiency purposes. Barcelona Football Club’s new stadium
(expected completion year: 2021) is expected to not have any fences and provide
Wi-Fi. Companies will be able to get and analyze data about people who are
there and link fans directly to merchandise, based on their preferences. Well,
you get the point.
Useful data, however, is not only Big Data. Majority of
smaller businesses have data that can be used for similar benefits, at a
smaller scale. If you are a business owner, you can also find the value in data
analysis.
Why are some businesses not doing anything with their data?
It is possible that some business owners are not sure what insights would be useful to understand, since the focus of their work is day-to-day
activities. It’s fair, running your business is tough enough and it is easy to
blur the long-term picture.
Another reason could be is that some business owners know what
insights they would like to see and understand but they lack the data; they
don’t know how to properly gather, organize and put the processes in place for
tracking. It’s true, data need to be gathered before analysis can be done.
Another possibility is that some business owners also know what insights they
would like to see but don’t know how to analyze the data they have on hand.
Realizing the importance and the potential value that data
insights can bring to your business is the first step to maturity. Our team
will be posting piece-by-piece framework of the data maturity model developer
here at Surge Analytics.
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