Data Mining: A Modern Day Gold Rush

The amount of data in the world is doubling every year, predicted to surpass 44 zettabytes, abbreviated ZB, up from 4.4 ZB in 2014. For reference, 1 ZB is equivalent of 1 trillion GB.  With this massive amount of data comes an increased difficulty to secure, store, and make sense all of it.

More specifically, business data possesses incredible derivable value into process improvement and cost savings statistics.  With an exponential increase in business data comes an even more increased need for security.  If incredible business insight is held in this massive amount of data, businesses should understand others desire the same insights and take an increased interest in protecting it.

At the consumer level, a growing Internet of Things, or IoT, market is also responsible for an exponential increase, as interconnected devices tend to create large amounts of data.  

One study predicts a single autonomous vehicle will make 4,000 GB of data per day.  The IoT market expansion also creates a security concern for these devices.  IoT devices are notoriously insecure which allows hackers to access information quickly and easily.  Some devices even control house locks, presenting safety and theft issues.

Analyzing Data

As data grows exponentially, analyzing the data becomes increasingly difficult. Deriving important business conclusions from collected data presents growth opportunities for the data analysis industry. This is even more important when considering only one percent of all data in existence will ever be analyzed.

Utilizing Business Intelligence, or BI, software is one viable way to interpret data.  The analyses conducted using BI software can help identify cost cutting areas, improve decision making processes, and identify consumer preferences.  As more information is consumed, metrics that allow organizations to monitor performance become a modern-day necessity.  The true value of data will never be realized without the ability to make sense of it.

Presenting metrics in a visually appealing dashboard takes it to the next level by making data understandable to a broader audience, ultimately simplifying interpretation and improving overall communications.  The best dashboards literally translate data into meaningful information that executives can leverage to make critical decisions about running the organization.   The real challenge is bridging the gap between technical data and the business drivers it supports; this is the paradox that leads to deriving value from data.