In its annual Digital Universe study, IDC had found that new information generated per second for every human being will amount to 1.7 megabytes by 2020. It appears that the figures could be true. From 2.4 million internet users in 2014 to 3.8 billion internet users in 2017, the number has grown by a staggering 42% in just three years!
Well, we are already half way through 2018. And, as predicted by experts at the beginning of the year, big data is exploding and how! Let’s take a look at big data trends that are still going strong in 2018 and will continue to rule the roost for the rest of the year.
Cloud Usage Will Grow
According to Forrester’s 10 Cloud Computing Predictions for 2018, more than 50% of global enterprises will rely on at least one public cloud platform to drive digital transformation and delight customers. As an increasing number of customers start demanding cloud-based solutions and services, organizations will increase their investment in cloud applications. When more organizations move to the cloud, more data will get generated. Now, while big data and cloud computing are an ideal combination and provide several business opportunities, there are also challenges in their merger. For instance, data replication and error. So, this year, organizations will be looking at tools and techniques that will make the marriage of cloud and big data more successful.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Will Become More Visible
As big data produces millions of data sets, artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in filtering and sorting this data for organizations. With the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, companies would be able to extract behavioural data in real-time. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will also help to process voice and image data using a gamut of algorithms. Apple homePod and Amazon Alexa are some examples of the same. Artificial intelligence will blur its lines with business intelligence to identify trends, patterns and habits that could aid the human decision-makers with solid data at their fingertips.
Demand for Data Professionals Will Go UP
Naturally, as the world generates tons of data every day, you would need people who can assist with managing it. Right now, there is a tremendous shortage of data professionals in comparison to the demand. No wonder, data analytics courses online are getting so popular! IBM predicts that the demand for data scientist will increase by 28% by 2020. Unfortunately, the skill gap still remains a concern at present. The good news is that people who know their way around data have brighter career prospects, both in terms of job profile as well as salary.
Big Data Will Empower Internet of Things (IoT)
A Gartner study reveals that IoT installed base will grow to 26 billion units by 2020. It also says that the revenue generated from IoT-enabled products and services will exceed $300 billion by 2020. Needless to say, with so many IoT devices in the world, there will be an increase in big data volume as well! It means that storage issues pertaining to big data will arise too. At the same time, there will also be security issues as the devices get inter-connected on the internet. So, companies dealing in IoT will adopt big data technologies that can not only help the received data efficiently but also store them securely in the cloud data centres at low cost.
Chatbots Will Make Their Presence Known More Noticeably
While chatbots were introduced somewhere around in 2015-16, they have grabbed the attention of the businesses and masses only in the last few months. A survey by Grand View Research shows that 45% of end users prefer chatbots as the primary mode of communication for questions regarding customer service. The adaption of chatbots in the businesses for payments, marketing, processing and other functions is steadily growing. So, chatbots are touted as the next big trend in big data. In fact, it is being said that chatbots are the new apps and may soon replace mobile apps! A chatbot involves a large volume of exchange of data to and from business and customers. In order to ensure that businesses are able to address the queries correctly and at the same time, give a human touch to the bots, they are leveraging big data technologies heavily.
Big data is such a dynamic field that it is both exciting and overwhelming. If you really want to pursue a career in big data, then there are ample opportunities to explore and grow as a professional. However, one major challenge with big data is that the trends and technologies are evolving at a swift pace. It doesn’t take time for the existing data skills to become outdated. So, you have to really keep a close and continuous tab on the latest trends and hone your skills at regular intervals through data analytics courses online.