Big Opportunities in Big Data
We create an astonishing amount of data every day. From the photos we upload to social media, to the swipe of a card when we hop on the bus, the average person produces tremendous amounts of data at every turn. Delving into this collective ocean of data to find discrete patterns and trends may seem impossible, but innovative analytics are making it a reality thanks to Big Data.
Organizations across the globe are beginning to recognize the value in unlocking information imbedded in large, complex data sets.
Whether it’s hospitals using algorithms to catch infections early, researchers developing cutting-edge tools to map the furthest reaches of our universe, or the NHL deploying “smart pucks” to capture live data and enhance fan experience, our world is increasingly shaped by our relationship to data. Innovators at the leading edge of big data analytics stand to gain tremendously as technology improves and novel applications are discovered in the coming years.
For those interested in investing in this rapidly-growing sector, however, there are a few important points to understand.
What is Big Data?
Big Data refers to large, complex data sets that are difficult to process using traditional analytics. Included in this definition is the process of storing and analyzing the large, complex data sets.
According to IBM, a leader in big data analytics: “Analysis of big data allows analysts, researchers and business users to make better and faster decisions using data that was previously inaccessible or unusable. Businesses can use advanced analytics techniques such as text analytics, machine learning, predictive analytics, data mining, statistics and natural language processing to gain new insights from previously untapped data sources independently or together with existing enterprise data.”
And where does this data come from? Increasingly, it’s coming from internet-connected devices that we interact with every day. This growing network of sensors, relays and more is known as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Why Invest in Big Data?
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global revenues for Big Data analytics are forecast to reach $189.1 billion in 2019, a 12.0% increase over 2018 revenues. IDC also predicts the annual growth rate increasing to 13.2% throughout the next five years, with 2022 revenue reaching $274.3 billion.
Focusing in on specific sectors, the trend becomes even more pronounced. The value of big data analytics in the healthcare sector is projected to grow at an annual rate of 19.1% between 2018 to 2025, and the value of big data analytics in law enforcement is projected to grow at an annual rate of 17.5% between 2015 and 2022.
Organizations of all sizes are investing in big data solutions to address challenges and increase competitive advantage.
In a recent survey of executives at industry-leading firms, 92% responded that they are accelerating the pace of investment in big data and AI. Analytics are also becoming more affordable, bringing the technology within the range of small and midsize businesses. According to the IDC, roughly one quarter of global revenues for big data analytics in 2019 will come from businesses with less than 500 employees.
And 2019 has already been marked by a number of notable acquisitions in the data analytics market. Salesforce acquired Tableau for $15.7 billion on August 1, and Google is in the process of acquiring Looker for $2.6 billion.
As noted by Amir Orad, CEO of Sisense, a business analytics software company: “The value of the data analytics market can’t be ignored. The Looker and Tableau acquisitions demonstrate that even the biggest tech players are snapping up data analytics companies with big price tags, clearly demonstrating the value these companies have in the larger cloud ecosystem.”
In 2015, it was estimated that the possible value of intangible assets, including data, in the United States alone was roughly $8 trillion. As organizations increasingly come to view their data as capital, it will become more and more of a strategic imperative to put that capital to work.
This presents a unique opportunity for investment. As enterprises invest in big data analytics, so too should savvy investors consider the companies supplying the analytics.
How to Invest in Big Data
What’s the best way for investors to get involved in this growing tech sector? Big Data crosses over a number of different specialty areas, including cloud storage, data science and analytics, but a search on Magnifi suggests that there are a number of different ways to profit from the big data trend as a whole.
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The information and data are as of the October 23, 2019 (publish date) unless otherwise noted and subject to change. This blog is sponsored by Magnifi.
