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How Will Your Enterprise Use Data Lakes?

Companies vary in their approach to data strategy. Some rely on relatively few sources where traditional data warehouse solutions work well. However, many enterprises are now discovering the value that lies in previously untapped sources, using new data and advanced analytics to unlock strategic value from their data assets.

To perform these processes, they need an effective place to store the raw content that will feed their tools and applications. This is where data lakes take center stage, holding massive stores of information in largely unsorted and unstructured forms. Between 2016 and 2021, the data lake market is set to rise from $2.53 billion to $8.81 billion.

So What?

The benefits of incorporating data lakes as part of a broader data strategy are numerous and are derived from their biggest advantage – flexibility. By collecting data in its raw, unstructured form, far greater streams of data can be available for analysis. This allows enterprises to derive real value from all their data – leveraging advanced and predictive analytics solutions that can drive direct revenue or cost saving impact to lines of business.

As volumes of data continue to grow exponentially, however, companies are increasingly realizing the need for a more agile and unstructured way to manage it. Anyone who has been looking at big data for any length of time is already likely to be overexposed to the “data lake vs. data swamp” analogy. The trick to making these resources deliver value is finding ways to ensure the integrity and veracity of the content, ensuring the truth doesn’t get lost in the constant input from multiple sources.

Data quality processes are becoming a central part of the data lake concept. Companies that segment their lakes into different zones and implement other sorting functions on incoming data may have an easier time detecting discrepancies and deriving valuable information right away.

In the years ahead, companies will implement top-down policies to get their new and larger data reserves under control. Implemented correctly, these operations can help organizations see increased value, while retaining the flexibility of a less controlled and less structured environment.

Now What?

Maximizing the data lake experience takes three separate processes. First, companies must establish a shared vision that suits every department of users, ensuring no team goes rogue and undermines the system. Then, firms must develop new and different skills among employees to suit the unique data science landscape. Third, teams must ensure there is strong data governance, with a style that suits the catch-all nature of data lakes.

 

Learn more about these three developmental areas by downloading our 2018 Technology Vision report on data lakes.

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As is the case with other popular tech buzzwords, the Internet of Things has so far failed to live up to its billing.

But all that should change in 2018 and beyond, as IoT reaches a tipping point where businesses will begin to experience its full potential.

With organizations adopting more sophisticated data strategies and incorporating more advanced analytics solutions into their core business operations, processes and workflows, the internet of things is set for a major breakout. The convergence of new technologies like cloud computing and modern data platforms is finally allowing enterprises to instantly and efficiently collect, analyze and store the huge amount of information needed to fully maximize the value of IoT.

Along with massive storage capacity and cost savings, cloud computing is also enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (deep learning, natural language processing, image recognition and neural-network driven decision-making) to allow devices to not only understand each other better but us as well.

The evolution of IoT will involve both the expansion of the sensor networks and the improvement of analytics and storage processes. To finally realize the promise IoT has been offering, companies dealing with unprecedented amounts of information will have to formulate a modern and forward-looking data strategy to maximize their results, rather than simply being overwhelmed by a wave of raw content.

So What?

New potential applications for IoT are emerging. Equipped with cloud-based solutions that give businesses more processing power and storage space than ever before, IoT-focused analytics applications could lead to innovative new revenue streams, improved performance and high-level engagement.

Personalization is one of the mainstays of this technology, with services able to process information from a variety of sources and create customized experiences. More accurate predictive capabilities, in both consumer-facing applications and internal industrial processes, can create exciting new opportunities for companies to improve customer experience and satisfaction while increasing operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Unstructured data drawn from edge devices can be used to fuel not only a live dashboard, but to provide context and insights to other devices in the environment. Cameras, for example, combined with machine learning from the cloud and unstructured raw data from a connected microphone would allow a hospital monitoring a patient to tell if someone is recovering well, if their gait is normal or if they have fallen or dropped something.

The fruits of this technological convergence are only beginning to be realized and IoT solutions will be one of the earliest benefactors.

Now What?

Keeping up with these trends will require companies to work hard on their systems and infrastructure. Becoming agile and flexible are essential priorities, and far from automatic. An old-fashioned approach to data warehousing is rigid, more suited to structured and reasonably sized data sets. Since the content flowing in from IoT devices is much greater in scale than what firms have dealt with before, they need to shift mindset about how to collect and use it.

There are three critical considerations for executives seeking better insights from the IoT. First, they must replace conventional data warehouses with more flexible “workbench” systems. Next, they must find ways to make sense of data as it flows in, rather than analyzing it after the fact. Finally, they must determine which departments can succeed with organized data and which demand dynamic approaches.

Learn more about these priorities in the 2018 Neudesic Technology Vision.

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Augmented reality and virtual reality are similar concepts with important differences. While AR involves superimposing imagery on the space a user is actually viewing, virtual reality simulates an entire world around the subject. Each of these may prove to be a promising new area of development for forward-looking companies.

The industries that have taken to these solutions so far cover a wide variety of subjects. AR is becoming a useful planning tool, as well as providing training advantages. Virtual reality has become a factor in entertainment and gaming and has moved into education, training operations and maintenance spaces.

So What?

AR and VR are shaking off early perceptions that they require extensive and expensive development, as well as specialized equipment. Executives who witnessed the large, attention-grabbing launch of the smartphone video game “Pokemon Go” quickly realized that today’s handheld devices give individuals AR-capable hardware in their pockets at all times. The potential for exciting new AR and VR applications has never been greater.
AR overlays, accessed on phones or smart glasses, can put notifications on the scenes workers are actually viewing, guiding them to safe and productive solutions to problems in progress. VR spaces can be used for collaboration on complex projects, and give users a wealth of easy-to-understand data. Industries from the energy production sector to hospital-based health care are taking notice.

Now What?

The next steps for AR and VR will likely take the form of four distinct advantages. Each of these advantages helps close a gap between company personnel and departments. First, the technologies will be able to simulate proximity and help people work together remotely. Second, they’ll deliver visually clear and stimulating insights. Third, AR and VR add a new depth to training methods. Finally, the solutions can create a feeling of engagement and togetherness.

Read our full Augmented & Virtual Reality Guide to learn how to bring these four capabilities to your company.

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Increased visibility of data can lead to many improved outcomes in business, and companies’ search for new and more accurate ways to track transactions and other records has led them to blockchain technology. Though blockchain systems won popular cachet as the principle behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, their business uses go beyond payments.

A blockchain is a centralized, distributed ledger that employs encryption algorithms based on its own existing records when a new entry appears. When the ledger updates, it stores all previous transactions and can’t be covertly altered. This technology has caught on with 40 percent of executives. Of those early adoptees, 40 percent have $5 million or more invested in its development.

So What?

Data integrity is at a premium today. Corporate partners need information they can trust absolutely, and blockchain systems give them a great way to get this level of certainty. Instead of introducing a third party to maintain data, businesses can employ a decentralized ledger to securely keep their records accurate.

The decentralized nature of blockchain-based data gives security benefits. There is no one system criminals can breach to get the data they covet, and plenty of ways for blockchain users to share data safely, even sensitive information such as medical records.

Development of blockchain technologies has gone beyond the ledger stage and expanded to programs and contracts that react to record changes in real time. Stakeholders in the industry are currently working on more efficient methods of adding blocks to chains and dealing with the heavy energy and digital storage needs of blockchain systems.

Now What?

There are many different ways to apply blockchain systems to common business problems, and each firm will have to find its own unique use case. The democratization of data is a huge concept for companies to grapple with, and its effect on overall business operations could be vast.

Read our full Blockchain Guide to learn the 4 steps you can take to begin your blockchain journey.

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How Will Your Enterprise Utilize Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence?

If the 20th century was powered by oil, the 21st will be fueled and re-vitalized by AI. It’s hard to imagine anything else that holds such ubiquitous changes to digital business as artificial intelligence. With solutions quickly becoming more sophisticated and mature, organizations across all industries are starting to utilize AI technologies, such as bots to gain competitive advantages, efficiencies and cost savings.

Even taking a small step of embedding machine learning into an existing process can boost effectiveness to entirely new levels. For example, insights for predictive maintenance can be used by AI to create work orders and dispatch crews. Chatbots can not only answer routine questions, but can also initiate interactions, ensuring data is presented to the right person at the right time.

So What?

Given AI’s wide applications, today’s enterprises are applying artificial intelligence, machine learning and cognitive services to inform, engage and improve customer and employee experiences.

Machine learning is being used by retailers to provide customers with the right offers at the right time. Natural language processing is enabling the use of bots to answer inquiries and later record your notes and set your meetings for you.

Companies that are not utilizing their data to create these experiences will struggle to compete. The next generation of consumers have grown up with digital technologies and will expect each company to anticipate their needs and provide personalized responses to any interactions.

Now What?

There is no doubting the disruptive force that is AI, and the changes it will bring to every industry. Rather than wait, executives can start applying AI technologies today to transform their organizations.

Read our full Artificial Intelligence Guide to learn the 3 steps you can take to begin your AI journey.