The 3 Vs of gathering big data

Big data is a general term that is used to describe large volumes of data that a business receives on a day to day basis. It’s not really the size or the amount of data that businesses enjoy, but it is the analysis and mapping that can be drawn from this data which helps businesses, allowing them to make more informed and accurate decisions, formulate more precise strategy and more targeted marketing campaigns.

What are the considerations for gathering big data?

When gathering big data, it’s common for companies to view things in terms of the three Vs:

Volume

Because businesses collect data from a wide variety of sources, including business transactions, social media platforms, and market maps, there is a huge amount of data that must be stored. For any businesses that make large numbers of small transactions, the amount of data gathered can increase rapidly on a daily basis. As such, companies much consider how they are going to effectively store and categorise this information.

Velocity

Along with the sheer amount of data, it must also be realised that data is collected at unprecedented speeds from all of these different platforms. As such, companies must have systems in place to use, or at the very least categorise, the data in almost real time in order to cope with the constant influx of new data.

Variety

Due to data being received from different platforms and channels, the data that is gathered will be in a variety of formats. While sales figures will be presented in traditional numerical data, other information such as that from customer reviews or social media is likely to come in the form of text, and you must have a system in place that can handle, and subsequently successfully use, multiple file types.

Choosing to gather big data can be difficult, especially if you do not already have the software and infrastructure in place to successfully manage the three Vs. At Excalibur Digital, we can offer you guidance and assistance on gathering big data, along with a number of other website hosting services.