I am fully aware that I am being tracked when I browse online or when I add an item into my virtual shopping basket (and continue with the purchase if I am feeling plush). How I spend my time on individual web pages is crucial to organisations, and this is because of the ‘big data’ they will obtain from our online activity and other infomation.
So what is big data?
I recently read an article by McAfee & Brynolfsso (2012) titled ‘Big data: the management revolution.’ Big data is concerned with large collections of data sets which are then analysed and translated into business advantage.
What makes it big?
McAfee & Brynolfsso (2012) suggest that there are three aspects to big data which they call the ‘three V’s’
Volume- The amount of data that can be collected from human behaviour and interactivity has grown and is continuously increasing. As of 2012, around 2.5 exabytes of data were created daily (exabyte= 1bn gigabytes), and no doubt that this number has extended further since.
Velocity- Data can be accessed faster than before. Real time information and location data are available which allows for the company to be flexibile, agile and react accordingly.
Variety- Data is extremely diverse and comes in many forms, such as image data, GPS location and text taken from social media.

It is essential that all relevant data is used to paint the best picture and make strategic decisions. But data is so big that part of the challenge is organising and analysing the volume, velocity and variety of information. To do this well will put a business at an advantage and marketers have been using this to enhance customer engagement, retention/loyalty and marketing performance by determining optimal marketing spend.

All sound like a lot? Well there is a lot of data! And you and me both are contributing to this each day when we pay with our debit and credit cards, ‘like’ a facebook page or select our current location in our map apps. This is all part of the technological revolution we are experiencing and I am positive there is much more to come!

 

McAfee, A., & Brynjolfsson, E. (2012). Big data: the management revolution. Harvard business review, 90(10), 60-66.