The Competitive Edge: How Big Data & AI Are Redefining Business

The words Data Science are becoming increasingly popular and more leadership teams are seeking this type of intelligence and thus making your competitors even more dangerous.  Machine learning and AI gives businesses the ability to optimize their processes, personalize user experiences and more.  This would mean that businesses that are effectively implementing machine learning and AI with the proper applications of Data Science are going to move faster and more efficiently. 

Which leads us to a discussion on Big Data…

Big data refers to extremely large data sets that can really only be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.  Patterns and trends that we as humans may not be able to see or be aware of.  There is also the time factor when it comes to how we manage and position big data.

Now the concept of BIG DATA isn’t just about the volume of data per say, but also its variety and velocity – often referred to as the 3 Vs of Big Data.

Volume: Volume would be the sheer quantity of data generated and stored. This can range from the terabytes of data stored by small businesses to the petabytes (1 million gigabytes) or even exabytes (1 billion gigabytes) of data stored by large tech companies.

Variety: The different types of data available, including structured data (like databases), semi-structured data (like XML files), and unstructured data (like social media posts, images, videos).

Velocity: The speed at which new data is generated and the pace at which it moves. With the rise of the Internet of Things and real-time analytics, data is being generated and processed faster than ever before. So this ties into what we’ve discussed earlier regarding just how much data that we have globally and what we would need to do with that data.  

Now Big data as it relates to data science; plays a crucial role because it provides the raw input that data scientists use to extract the valuable insights required. 

Data Collection and Storage: With the volume, variety, and velocity of big data, specialized methods and tools are required to collect, store, and manage it. This includes distributed storage solutions like Hadoop and cloud-based platforms.

Preprocessing: Big data is often messy and requires preprocessing before it can be effectively used. This can include dealing with missing or erroneous data, normalizing data, and transforming data into a format suitable for analysis.

Analysis: Once the data is ready, data scientists or data professionals would use various statistical and machine learning algorithms to analyze this data.  This can include descriptive analytics (understanding what has happened), diagnostic analytics (understanding why it happened), predictive analytics (predicting what will happen), and prescriptive analytics (suggesting what actions to take).

Insights and Decision-Making: The ultimate goal of data science is to extract insights from data that can drive decision-making. This can range from identifying trends and patterns to building predictive models. With big data, businesses can make more informed decisions, identify new opportunities, and better understand their customers and the market.  Maybe even invent new products based on predictive analytics.

In the future, as data continues to grow in volume, variety, and velocity, the role of big data in data science will become even more significant. We have the rise of technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning which also means that we’ll be able to extract even more value from big data, driving innovation and improvements across all sectors of the economy.

Fore more information on how to leverage data, big data, AI, and machine learning connect with me on Linkedin for high value live social audio events.  AI and data strategy sessions are also available, please see the full menu of services.