TECHNOLOGY
38
It ’ s often said that , in our modern economy , data is becoming the new oil . Whether this metaphor is totally accurate is almost beside the point ; in an increasingly digital world , everything is data , a fact that becomes ever more pertinent when the tools available for collecting and analysing information evolve . The scale of data ’ s explosion was estimated by Domo to reach 1.7MB of new information every second for every person on Earth by 2020 , with an approximate total of 40 zettabytes ( 40 trillion gigabytes ) globally . Contributing to this enormous volume is ‘ Big Data ’ - large quantities of information pertaining to corporate assets , which require highly innovative forms of processing to decipher and render useful for decision-making within business .
Abel Smit , Director of IoT Solutions at Tech Data , believes that how a company chooses to analyse its data can have a significant impact on enabling efficiencies . After all , when it comes to Internet of Things ( IoT ) devices , the value a customer derives will not necessarily be from the device itself , but rather the wealth of insights and options for action that the analysis of data can make possible . “ Businesses , small and large , need to aggregate , unlock and organise their data so it is accessible and can be maintained whilst being secure and ethical . When that is in place , analytics can be used to visualise , gain insights and drive even more value with artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning ,” he says .
APRIL 2020