Harnessing the power of Big Data

In today’s digital economy, data is king of the hill.

Data has transformed into valuable capital that fuels the production of digital goods and services. Just as automakers can’t manufacture new vehicle models without the necessary financial capital, it can’t make its cars autonomous if it lacks the data to feed the onboard algorithms.

Data management systems are built on data management platforms and can include databases, data lakes, and warehouses, big data management systems, data analytics, and more.

From there, data and analytics combined with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies will prove to be vital in efforts to predict, prepare, and respond in a proactive and accelerated manner to a global crisis and its aftermath, all while keeping up with the worldwide digital-first attitude.

A report by Gartner predicts that by the end of 2024, 75 percent of enterprises will shift from piloting to operationalizing AI, driving a 5X increase in streaming data and analytics infrastructures.

In parallel, the rise of data management also carries with it the rise of data governance.

According to Gartner analysts, while data governance is a core component of an overall data management strategy, organizations should focus on the desired business outcomes of a governance program instead of the data itself.

“This is top of mind for many organizations given the growing availability of data and desire to find new business insights. In my opinion, data governance is becoming a boardroom conversation regarding data privacy and security,” Cindy Maike, VP of Industry Solutions, at U.S.-based Cloudera, told Inside Telecom.

Maike added that with cloud computing usage on the rise, companies will require more robust data governance programs to ensure the “data sprawl” does not happen and, if it does, that data is properly managed and governed. 

In turn, AI will have a major role to play in how companies approach their data.

According to Maike, AI goes hand-in-hand with data governance and how and when data can and should be used.

“More companies are using data de-identification and anonymization techniques, but they also need to make sure processes and practices are established to ensure that when they combine data they do not ‘undo’ the anonymization routine,” Cloudera’s VP of Industry Solutions highlighted.

These corporate trends have allowed organizations such as ForHumanity – a U.S.-based nonprofit that examines risks related to AI and automation – to begin developing industry frameworks which companies can leverage when developing AI-based models.

A recent report by Research & Markets predicts that the global market for AI in big data and IoT as a whole will exceed $26B by 2025, as AI makes IoT data 25 percent more efficient and analytics 42 percent more effective for various industries.

This data-fueled shift will be heavily impacted by other emerging technologies, especially by the rollout of the fifth generation of mobile networks.

Maike considers that 5G will be one of the foundations of the ecosystem of connected devices, be it phones or the plethora of sensors which exist and continue to grow in businesses, and our individual lives.

“The data will need to flow securely and with the speed to support real-time analytics and decisions to be made at the edge. Thus, making 5G a critical enabler as it delivers the high reliability and low latency this connectivity requires,” she added.

This places the telecoms industry center stage for enabling “connected ecosystems” which is about connecting the digital world and its various participants.

“We see this in Smart City initiatives, connected cars and other areas of connected healthcare.  The telecom industry is at the heart of this, with 5G enabling the capability to connect different devices with the flow of data,” Maike told Inside Telecom.

Cloudera has helped telecom organizations with understanding where and how to optimize their networks and bandwidth, as well as supporting the vast amounts of new subscribers that telecom companies are serving, while improving customer care as a key focus area.

The company is also driving innovation in terms of aiding companies assess the data needed to support their business strategy, they will also look to leverage different infrastructures from cloud, and on-prem, to hybrid models, to support their data strategy in a secure and cost-effective manner.

A study by Gartner forecasts that by 2022, public cloud services will be essential for 90 percent of data and analytics innovation.

“As data and analytics moves to the cloud, data and analytics leaders still struggle to align the right services to the right use cases, which leads to unnecessary increased governance and integration overhead,” the study highlighted.

The ability to harness real-time, highly granular data across a wide range of operations and services will change the way both urban and business environments are managed and experienced. They will unlock a multitude of opportunities for both businesses and government organizations to better serve societies and to help keep up with the technological advancements edging closer over the horizon.