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6. How businesses can use big data

Statement

Discuss four different ways businesses can use big data. How does using big data help in the four ways you selected?

Answer

The big data life cycle starts by collecting those data from various sources; secondly, storing them in appropriate formats and stores; thirdly, putting those data into analysis processes that involve ETL operations, data mining, clustering, and association rules to discover patterns and develop models and stats; five, utilizing the results in decision-making or other business processes; and finally, destroying the data when it is no longer needed (Koo, Kang, & Kim, 2020).

The focus of the question is on the utilization step which involves communicating the results of data analysis to the entities making decisions helping them to make informed ones. This process differs heavily from industry to industry and even from one organization to another; that is, depending on the value the organization expects to get from the data (Hughes-Cromwick & Coronado, 2019).

In Healthcare, big data is used to decide which services to expand geographically and how many staff to hire based on the projected demand (Hughes-Cromwick & Coronado, 2019). Electronic health records (EHRs), genomic information, and real-time monitoring data are fed into medical data analysis systems to discover patterns in patient health and population’s response to certain diseases or treatments; big data is used to provide genetically personalized medicines and to simulate medical and clinical trials thus reducing the cost of drug development (Atlasik, 2014).

In Finance, big data is used for risk management, that is, setting loans and interest rates and predicting fraudulent activities. Big data is also used to regulate the financial sector with constant reporting to the government and also increases collaboration between firms and institutions in the sector. Big data can also be used to orient investment decisions, especially for trading and stock markets (Atlasik, 2014).

In the Energy Sector, big data is used in the oil and gas industry to predict supply and demand and expect price fluctuations especially when purchasing in advance; it also stabilizes the energy supply chain and increases safety by real-time monitoring of equipment and staff. In the electricity industry, big data is used to monitor the grid and identify potential failures which lowers costs and increases efficiency (Rusitschka & Curry, 2016).

In Transportation, big data is used in real-time traffic monitoring, public transportation planning, and determining the location of electric vehicle facilities. Big data is also used to simplify ticketing and payments reducing the cost of transportation and making it easier and more efficient for passengers (Rusitschka & Curry, 2016).

The text has dictated four different ways businesses can use big data in healthcare, finance, energy, and transportation; in all of these cases, the analysis is done on the data and then results are reported to the concerned entity where it is used to gauge decisions.

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