At this point, big data’s impact on the way companies operate is no longer up for debate. Proving itself to be a key player in everything from marketing to retail, big data’s prevalence in business grows every day. Information about exactly how populations spend their time and money is more available than ever before, and it’s up to individual companies to decide how they want to use that vast knowledge.
In 2018, big data stands to make the leap from vague, intangible concept to accessible resource. As new tools store, organize and decipher big data, it becomes increasingly more usable, and the way businesses conduct financial forecasting could be significantly affected. If you’re considering using big data in your own financial forecasting, make sure you have these three things in place to get the most out of your data.
Trying to harness the power of big data without the proper systems in place will leave you lacking a clear direction. While that might seem obvious, deciding on the tool that will work best for your needs isn’t always easy. Fortunately, many software companies know of big data’s potential and are creating dashboards for companies to track analytics more efficiently. Microsoft is just one example—it recently saw a way to improve its financial forecasting tool's incorporation of big data. The resulting version of Microsoft Azure includes greatly streamlined analytics and better security.
Beyond just storing the data you already have, you’ll need to find ways to organize data you receive, or “clean” it, and in some cases, your company may choose to mine for data. To handle those tasks, choose between bigger names like Hadoop and Oracle or smaller startup software, but do your research and make sure you understand what you’re getting. Your company should have a platform that aligns with its needs, so don’t settle for something just because it’s the popular choice.
Considering the incredible influx of Information that big data represents, mistakenly thinking that all of it is relevant is understandable. However, infinite information can quickly become too much of a good thing.
