Big Data – The essential key to growth for every enterprise
Nowadays, big data is deeply embedded in all aspects of the economy and society, and more and more traditional industries are beginning to recognize its value.
According to a survey conducted by Jiabang in May 2017, 32.5% of companies are building big data platforms. 32.5% of companies use big data in production environments, and have successfully used cases/products. 24.5% of companies have sufficient understanding of big data, and development is ready. Only 13.5% of the 3000+ enterprises surveyed did not understand the basics of big data.
But what exactly is “big data”? The McKinsey Global Institute describes it as, “a collection of data that is large enough to capture, store, manage, and analyze the capabilities of traditional database software tools on a large data scale, with fast data flow, and diverse characteristics of data type.”
Everything we do, whether on the Internet or outside the Internet, will leave a data trace. For example, shopping with a credit card, web searching, mobile Internet access, and even every click on the Internet will be recorded and leave a data trail.
By analyzing and mining the data, enterprises can know customer needs in advance and predict their consumption habits and trends. If a manager’s decisions are based on hard evidence, he is no longer blind, and can reduce corporate risk. Big data technology will be an important part of all future business developments.
The five major values of big data to business include:
(1) Identification: Big data can identify the user’s information, such as mobile phone number, birthday and e-mail address, and link it all together;
(2) Description: Keywords searched by users, information about website activities, and business data of enterprises, can all be used as indicators of operations
(3) Prediction: For example, someone who has just searched for a hotel can immediately see advertisements for similar hotels when visiting other websites.
(4) Forecasting: Big data applications can help companies predict sales and thus amend their business strategies.
(5) Combining: After collecting large amounts of data, an enterprise can generate new data through existing data combinations, such as integrating various performances of online sellers, including logistics, product quality, customer service, etc. and even a shop rating mechanism.
Dr. Toa Charm, Chairman of the OpenCertHub, said that big data development has entered a hot stage, “No matter what industry you are in, be it financial, retail, property, logistics, or tourism, or whether you are in the frontline, back-office support, or management, mastering big data technology is indispensable.”
Hong Kong currently needs more big data talent
Dr. Toa explained that, “The next few years will be critical for Hong Kong. The most important thing is to have enough talent to do what needs to be done. In addition to scientific research professionals, general students, ordinary working people should also master application technology.”
On the advantages of Hong Kong, Dr. Toa said that, “As a member of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong also has another advantage. The city is known for its combination of Chinese and Western traits. For example, Hong Kong people can use Facebook and also browse WeChat to collect data. In addition, the local standards for intellectual property, privacy protection and ethical standards have gained International market recognition.”
