NAIROBI: Big data? That’s so last decade. What we live in today is an era of massive data — and it is growing by the second, as we connect everything from our businesses to our household devices to create a giant networked economy.
The real challenge companies are now facing is how to make sense of this data to create connections that make a difference.
They won’t necessarily admit it, but most firms are sitting on a huge pile of data. Problem is, they’re not necessarily doing much with it.
It’s called ‘dark data’ — terabyte upon terabyte of information that nobody really knows what to do with, but they don’t want to get rid of because it might prove useful at some point.
Worse than dark, it’s often unstructured, which means it’s disorganised and raw. In fact, research estimates that roughly 80 per cent of all corporate data is unstructured. And it keeps pouring in from everywhere: customers, suppliers and partners.
The good news is that if analysed and understood, this avalanche of information can deliver a keenly insightful picture of your business at any given time.
If you are able to quickly respond to what your markets are telling you — like an increase in demand — then you’re ahead of the game. To do this, though, you’ll need some business intelligence solutions that turn this deluge of data into understandable, actionable insights.
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS
Welcome to the world of predictive analytics. It’s not as arcane as it sounds. We come across predictive analytics every day without even knowing it: weather forecasts, insurance premiums, credit analyses are all based on this core enabler of big data.
In a business, it gives you the opportunity to spot trends, anticipate customer needs, forecast wider market trends and manage risk.
Generally, businesses want to better understand their customers, make more accurate financial predictions and improve their sales forecasting. But beyond these obvious uses, companies are starting to think more strategically about how they can use the data they gather to drive revenues and grow.
Predictive analytics is very much a fledgling market, but it’s on the rise as data volumes grow. In fact, SAP research shows that for 60 per cent of businesses, predictive analytics is already an investment priority. Additionally, more than two-thirds of companies think it will be an investment priority for them within the next five years.
The use of this technology is putting data firmly at the heart of organisational decision making. Make data visual, current and actionable, and suddenly, analytics develops the potential to drive real value.
Ultimately, though, what will really see predictive analytics coming into its own is the ability to affect a cultural shift to one of greater collaboration. By avoiding information silos and encouraging integration across the business and its networks, we will start to see the real power of analytics. It’s going to be a wild ride. Don’t get left behind.
The writer is CEO, SAP Africa.
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