Hidden In The Details: Your Guide To Big Data

As the web grows on a daily basis, so too does the number of buzzwords and tricky concepts that are thrown around tech-savvy crowds. It”s often difficult to know which of the internet trends are worth knowing about when it comes to business, forcing business owners and leaders to learn all they can about everything that they can, just to ensure that they aren”t slow to pick up on the next big thing.

Here, we take some time to consider big data, looking at what it is, when we use it and what exactly it means for most of us.

Let”s get started by looking at the basics.

The Basics

Big data is a term which comes very close to explaining itself. It simply refers to large amounts of data – larger amounts than most companies will be used to dealing with.

It should come as no surprise given the vast scale of today”s online world that there exists vast amounts of information, which sometimes need to be approached. Submitting a search query online is a great example of when one might have to sift through a vast amount of data.

The Challenges

Data of almost any size can create problems for businesses. When you”re handling data, particularly sensitive data, you have to ensure that it is secure and accessible as well as affordable.

This is no different with big data – the scale is just magnified.

Often, the solution for businesses who deal with large amounts of data is to centralise it. It doesn”t take a particularly large amount of data to make the idea of one copy per employee become ridiculous.

Instead, businesses will tend to use cloud technology to make key information available to employees from a centralised source.

Benefits of Cloud Technology

When data becomes too large to handle at a local level, the simplest thing to do is to store it online. This means that the data is still held on hard drives; just on a variety of larger ones which make up a server.

While the technology you have available in the office probably isn”t capable of doing a great deal with big data, it is possible to have a machine somewhere else do all the hard work.

For example, using onlinesoftware for financial data can allow small businesses and their employees to sift through and edit huge amounts of information from multiple touch points. Not only is this software, like the Sage One Accounts Extra package, a cheaper solution for most companies but it is a great way to ensure access to a number of different employees.

Much like with big data, the difficulty is often not in storing data, but in creating a system with which to manipulate it.

Cloud technology does well to make this possible and those interested in learning more about big data and all its uses should take a look at these top 5 big data trends which have been highlighted in major enterprise projects.