Humanity has come a long way, from not having the internet to generating over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every. Interestingly, more than 90 percent of that data was created only in the past two years. This enormous amount of information has been termed Big data, and it is rapidly changing the world. For information to be considered big data, it should have the following characteristics: volume, variety, velocity, and value. Nowadays, everything revolves around data. The things we do online can be considered our digital footprints, which companies use to provide us with better services and products. This article will talk about the impact of data and how it is changing the world.
Efficient energy waste approach
Even as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, the U.S electric grid is surprisingly inefficient. Data from 2017 shows that over two-thirds of the energy produced by the United States was wasted, especially in the form of heat loss. This occurs because they make a lot more energy than they use.
It is possible to reduce energy waste and decrease the emission of greenhouse gases by collecting and analyzing data on how we use power. It can be tracked using smart appliances such as meters and other connected devices. These devices can spot energy wastage and provide insights on how to eliminate them. Also, utility bills can be used to understand and predict energy usage and demand. This information is then used to distribute resources such as solar panels efficiently. Grid operators can use big data to track power produced by solar panels and optimize it to fit the energy needs of different households.
Modernized agriculture
Precision agriculture and smart farming help farm owners save on resources and provide new business opportunities. For example, farmers could predict the yield of their farms using technology and different algorithms by analyzing chemicals, weather, vegetation, and soil moisture. This knowledge will give them detailed insights and help them make better decisions like knowing when and where to plant, apply fertilizer, and harvest. This significantly decreases the need for manual labor. It is also common to use big data in remote farm equipment management. It gives farmers the ability to monitor their tools based on processed and analyzed data from satellites and farm sensors. You can read more about data-based solutions for agriculture in the EOSDA blog.
Improved Healthcare
The healthcare sector is rapidly digital transformation, and big data has a huge role to play in it. Big data is now used in every aspect of healthcare, from making doctor appointments to the treatment and care of patients. Doctors can get complete information about patients using sophisticated AI tools such as machine learning and predictive analysis. They can also create an accurate digital representation of the person using data from wearable sensors. This will help them better diagnose, manage, and treat patients. Also, big data and predictive analysis can be used in the public health sector to predict, control, and prevent outbreaks of diseases. Furthermore, big data also helps in accelerating research in the healthcare sector. For example, DNA strings can be used to predict patterns of diseases, which will help find cures faster.
Urban Planning
It is not an easy task to run and manage a city. However, big data has made things easier and seamless. City planners will not have to manually track the movement of people and vehicles or rely solely on surveys to know areas that need improvement. Instead, they can use data from telematics and Fitbit devices, which provide a large pool of information to analyze and improve traffic routes, saving time and increasing the overall quality of life.
Big data is also used when planning the future of a city. It provides city planners with information that helps predict the impact of large and expensive projects before they are carried out.
Advanced Retail
The marketing and advertising sector heavily relies on big data to make accurate predictions. For example, big tech companies like Netflix and Amazon collect and analyze their customers’ browsing and watch habits to create what is known as “recommendation engines.” This shows the customers different products or movies which they may like. It is an excellent form of personalized marketing that significantly increases sales.
Big data can also provide insights used by retailers to improve their inventory management. Using real-time analytics of purchase history, weather conditions, and time of the year, shop owners can know which items will increase sales and generate lots of profits.
Conclusion
Just like technology and innovation, big data is constantly changing. Many more companies have easy access to consumer information, giving them all the knowledge needed to provide better products and services. However, all this data comes at a cost. Since customers know that businesses have access to their data, they set very high and sometimes unrealistic standards for these companies to meet. These high expectations can cause some companies to fall.
