Big Data is the buzzword for working with huge amounts of structured and unstructured data. There are a lot of services using  Big Data nowadays. You might read more about these services here: https://itsvit.com/services/big-data/. Now we want to discuss the importance of Big Data, benefits and some unique features of Big Data.

You can distinguish Big Data from “ordinary data” by four V’s:

• Volume – when we think about Big Data, we mean really big volumes of information;
• Velocity – when you need to process a huge amount of information, the speed is quite an important thing. Big Data needs high speed of data processing because such data needs to be processed real-time; 
• Variety – Big Data is about different kinds of data, structured and unstructured data. The input can be very different, but the output must be predictable and expected;
• Value – Big Data is very efficient but very expensive, so it’s important to understand the value before the implementation.

In general, Big Data is a set of practices for processing information and working with Artificial Intelligence, neural networks and Machine Learning. Big Data scientists can train the system to make predictions and discover the patterns you need.

Benefits of Big Data for business

The best way to understand why Big Data is important for business is by listing the benefits of Big Data implementation.

1. Cost-efficiency. It’s looking a little bit weird because above we said about the value and expensive implementation. Big Data needs investments, it’s true. You will need a lot of computing resources to store and process information, and sometimes it’s processed without storing – the system just gives you predictions in real-time. Also, you should pay salaries to the Big Data specialists who will train a neural network for you. So, Big Data implementation is really expensive. But it will bring you great profit very quickly and, as a result, you’ll have a significant cost-efficiency.
2. Increased data processing speed. Big Data allows you to process information incredibly fast. Usually, you need to process a lot of information and can’t store it or need the results quickly. So, Big Data provides tools for fast processing and making fast and accurate predictions. The additional benefit might be in the redesigning of the current infrastructure for Big Data implementation. Such redesigning will bring you efficiency reducing all the processes.
3. Customization. Big Data has a wide application area, so you can use it almost everywhere if it’s profitable. Also, you can make different configurations and settings for predictions. Thus, you can totally customize the system in a way you need.

Examples of Big Data implementation

This is all about the customization we’ve mentioned above. You can implement Big Data almost everywhere.

Some fast-food restaurant chains use it for a prediction about the daily numbers of customers. For example, they can make changes in logistic and delivery of food supplies. In this case, Big Data helps analyze information about the weather, day of the week, season menu, region and other factors. The system can predict the approximate number of customers and the restaurant owners can offer a suitable amount of food. Thus, they don’t overpay and can in a timely manner redirect unnecessary food or ingredients to the nearby restaurants.

IT domain uses Big Data widely. Your smartphone can recognize your face because of Big Data. Your banking application uses the same technologies when you scan the card number. Fingerprint recognition, document scanning and a lot of other different functions are possible because of Big Data and training neural networks.

Healthcare is also using Big Data in the work. There are systems that can analyze a lot of patient data and can define the diagnosis. Also, Big Data is used in a different sport and health gadgets (bands, watches, etc.) that analyze your data and can give some advises or send notifications about changes in the body (e.g. elevated pulse or temperature).

This is a very small number of examples you might face almost every day. As you understand, Big Data can be useful in multiple areas.

Wrap up: is Big Data really good for business?

Big Data can extremely increase the efficiency of your processes, especially if your business is connected with a lot of data somehow. But Big Data is still an expensive service and you should estimate costs and time of implementation before the implementation. To implement this tool into your system you need to hire the Big Data scientist. This is a highly-qualified engineer who knows all the features of neural network training and can train it in the right way without overtraining to ensure accurate predictions.

In general, Big Data is a great tool that allows us to make great things and work with such modern technologies as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.