big data

Yes, there is a difference between big data and fast data

It’s all about big data today, but fast data is the future. Data isn’t going to suddenly shrink. In fact, it’s going to get bigger. Fast data is the next stage in the evolution of data analysis.

How do you get full use of fast data capabilities? High-speed data transfer. Using fast data without high-speed data transfer is like driving a Ferrari in a school zone.

Big data is all about volume

By 2020, every Internet user in the world will generate 1.7 Mb of data every second. A couple of megabytes may not seem like much until you do the math. Today, we’re approaching 4 billion Internet users. At today’s volume of users, that’s 6.8 terabytes of data every second!

Most big data analytics tools work offline; batch-processing large volumes of historical data, analyzing them to find patterns and trends that help businesses make decisions. Think about those 6.8 terabytes. With that much historical data to go through, today’s offline analysis will fall behind.

Big data needs a secure and reliable connection

The estimated cost of data centre downtime across industries is an approximate $5,600 per minute, and the average reported incident rate is 90 minutes. At an average cost of more than half a million dollars, unplanned outages are something organizations simply cannot afford.

When it comes to sending big data across mission critical applications and ensuring the maximum performance of your network, time is money.

Fast data is all about velocity

Fast data tools provide the same kind of analysis as big data tools, but they work on smaller data sets. Fast data tools are constantly processing a never-ending stream of info. As they sort, structure and analyze data streams, fast data tools help businesses respond to new information as soon as it arrives.

In a recent survey of data professionals, many of them developers, 92% of respondents said they plan to increase investment in streaming data. Soon the best tools available will work on this model. That means businesses with fast data capabilities will have a competitive advantage. Let’s look at some real-world examples of how fast data can improve business processes.

#FastData for #agriculture

Precision agriculture tools like Monsanto's FieldScripts already use big data to help farmers reduce seed, water, and chemical use. Internet of Things tools help farmers manage machinery. With fast data, farmers can use data intelligence to make decisions on a daily basis. For example, weather data can be used to manage irrigation systems, optimizing water use for high crop yields.

#FastData for #hotels

With fast data hotels can enhance customer service like never before. Real-time analysis of online customer reviews and customer feedback will allow hoteliers to identify and correct problems almost immediately. Another potential revenue source is data-driven booking. Fast data can increase revenue by analyzing a rich set of customer data to generate customized bookings.

#FastData for finance

During the 2007-08 economic crisis, financial institutions took as long as a month to evaluate their risk. Since then banks have to contend with more regulations, particularly in the area of risk analysis. With fast data tools, the evaluation that took a month in 2008, will take only a day.

#FastData for oil and gas

Today’s oil and gas industry is under immense pressure to find ways reduce cost and maximize production. Digital technologies offer a number of solutions. Sensors can relay data that allows operators to monitor remote pipelines and equipment at lower cost, and cloud analytics tools can help reduce operational cost and improve market decisions. Accelerating that process with fast data tools accelerates productivity and profitability.

#FastData for retail

Today’s customer is using multiple channels to make their buying decisions, particularly with large ticket items like appliances and cars. With the right tools, you can collect mobile and social data to gain insights into potential customers in real time. And you can get that information into the hands of the employee who serves shoppers on the sales floor.

Stay competitive in the digital economy 

Make sure you can leverage today’s—and tomorrow’s—analytics tools with fast, reliable infrastructure. Avoid latency issues for your mission-critical data and enjoy the benefits of fast data with the high-speed data transfer of a dedicated fibre optic network. It’s like driving a Ferrari on the Autobahn.

Fast data – big and small – is even more important in the IoT world of connected devices. The Internet of Things is on its way to becoming the Internet of Everything. Smart thermostats, wearables and smart cars are all IoT features that are here to stay, and there are much more to come. According to Business Insider, by 2020, there will be 34 billion connected devices in use. And that’s a conservative estimate. Businesses everywhere can leverage IoT and Fast Data to create predictive analytics that leads to business intelligence putting them ahead of the pack.

Download Axia’s free eBook to learn how your business can make use of IoT technology with a fibre infrastructure.

Axia IoT eBook

For more information on our fibre connectivity solutions, contact your Axia salesperson at sales@axia.com or 1-866-773-3348.

 

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