Big Data - An India perspective

 As you read this, India is evolving faster, with the tap on the touchscreens or the click on the mouse. Savor the stats listed below:

- 124.7 mn users going online in India during July 2012

- A report placed India at number 3 in terms of Facebook users. Social Media is moving fast in India

- Worldwide online audience has jumped 7%, with Asia-Pacific markets adding more than 40 million users. India has been identified as the fastest growing online market during the same period, with a 41% rise. This is much higher than China (5%), Brazil(6%) and Russia (20%). With most online categories in Indian exhibiting an average reach below the global figures, the potential seems to be high.

- 27 million Smart phone users in Urban India; 13% of are between the Age of 18 - 24; moreover 22 million smart phone owners use it for Social Networking

Clearly data consumption is on the rise in India and we need to effectively decipher the multiple forms of data. This is where Big Data comes into the spotlight. In India, there are numerous concerns in handling big data, which can be listed under four broad points below:

- Volume - Sometimes, it is difficult to estimate the size of the deployment (hardware, software) while dealing with unknown volumes of data

- Variety - Consolidating the various types of data is challenging

- Velocity - Speed at which the inbound data gets into the system is unpredictable and hence unmanageable

Moreover, securing various data sets is not that easy

It is rather important to decide prudently on what to capture and what not to. Just because we have big data framework/solution in place, we tend to capture "unwanted" data as well. This results in high costs of maintenance in long-run.

Any sector, which has access to large data sets,is expected to derive more benefits. For example, Telecom, Financial Services, Healthcare and Digital Media Services are some of the sectors that have large consumer database. These sectors are using Big Data to gain valuable insights about their various processes and for the betterment of their services.

With the massive influx of real time data, and velocity with which data is being created from disparate sources, Big Data applications adoption is accelerating. Since the benefits of working with larger and larger data sets enables analysts to spot key business-related trends, it has gained new momentum in the marketplace.

Like, telecom sector is leveraging big data in Revenue Assurance & Price Optimization, Customer Churn Prevention, Campaign Management, Call Detail Records (CDR) analysis and Network Performance.

Financial Services is using big data for Compliance & Regulatory reporting, Risk Analysis, Fraud Detection, CRM, Customer Loyalty Programs, Credit Scoring and Trade Surveillance.

 

Healthcare & Pharmaceutical sectors use big data for Campaign & Sales Program Optimization, Patient Care Quality & Program Analysis, Supply Chain Management, Drug Discovery & Development Analysis.

While these sectors have been the early adopters of the Big Data technology, even others are following the path. They are slowly but steadily understanding the importance of it and moving towards its adoption.

Bottom-line: Earlier the better is the "Mantra" for companies operating in India!