The term Big Data has become popular recently and is used to define exponential data development and availability, both structured and unstructured. Big data is crucial to businesses since more data implies precise analyses which results in efficient decision making, reduced risk and cost reduction. Big Data is used for more complex datasets and refers to application of predictive analytics and other advanced application tools to derive the results and seldom to the size of datasets. The three V’s of Big Data are namely: Volume, Velocity, and Variety. Apart from increasing varieties and velocities of data, data flows are very challenging. Variability, complexity are some other factors of Big Data. Data flows in from different sources and it’s difficult to connect them which has become a huge task these days. Big Data has become necessary for companies which helps them stay updated with the new technologies. Processing the Big Data smartly and accurately is worth a lot of income for the companies. Big Data demands amazing technologies to efficiently process such datasets in given deadlines. There were companies who spend a lot of money on data analytics and other management systems to increase their efficiency. Recently Big Data has increased the need for information organizations. Big Data also helps to grow and continue increasing the number of servers used which only adds to expenses of the company.

Read more at: http://www.smartdatacollective.com/anandsrivastava1988/328749/what-big-data-and-how-useful-it

Big Data has always presented new avenues to make huge profit in almost every sector. However, it would be our short sightedness to associate big data benefits only for profit seeking organizations. Non-profit organizations are also increasingly using/gathering huge data to drive the social change they aim at. Sima Thakkar, content marketing manager at Umbel and founder of goodindiangirl.com, enlighten us about the big data projects carried out by different NGO's. To have a look at all these interesting big data initiatives driving the change we all want, follow the link http://www.smartdatacollective.com/sthakkar/323866/when-big-hearts-meet-big-data-6-nonprofits-using-data-change-world

The quality of big data is more important than the quantity of big data. Three types of data a company should be stressing on:
1. Social data- Marketers are now focused on estimating the number of followers of the company website, and its products now that there are ample opportunities to share the knowledge of their products in social platforms like, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
2. On-line IDs- Data has taken marketing to a whole new level. Data can be collected and used to personalize messages and send offers through mediums most preferred by consumers. This is often done by connecting off-line data with on-line identities.
3. hard-to-find data- Enterprises produce large quantities of data everyday as a by-product of their day-to-day business transactions. Many companies, realizing the benefits of monetizing these data assets are making it available to other firms and the fact that the data has already been mined and sourced, adds value to the whole procedure.
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http://www.business2community.com/big-data/3-big-data-types-will-increase-roi-01257959

In today’s world, the Voice of Customer (VOC) and data derived from social conversations are valuable as this helps businesses to know their customer. Social data help businesses to give a complete picture about your current and prospective customers, their needs, their likes/dislikes and in turn help to build and nurture long-term meaningful relationships with customers and also helps to make business strategy. To know more, follow Ekaterina Walter (Author; International Speaker; Global Evangelist, Sprinklr)’s article link: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/digital-analytics-unlocking-power-social-data