What does it take to succeed with a big data project in 2017?

Big data – long past are those days when some believed it to be just another buzzword. As more and more companies achieve tremendous financial successes with their big data ventures, having a genuine impact on the lives of ordinary people, its practical use becomes increasingly clear to everyone. At the same time, the bar for upcoming big data projects is being set higher and higher. How to be successful in this competitive field in 2017? What qualities should you be seeking in your software development outsourcing partner?

How would you like to contribute to the growth of the big data market? That’s easy. All you have to do is… drink some Coca-Cola. How come? The soda giant uses data insights on a large scale in its popular Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. Every time you buy a drink in one of those, the machine saves data such as the type of drink, time of day and more. It allows the company to improve their stocking and inventory capabilities, letting them how when to refill for the best efficiency. But there’s more. The data also allowed Coca-Cola to discover that certain drinks are particularly popular at certain hours. The availability of the Caffeine-Free Diet Coke was greatly increased as unknown demand was discovered[1].

You know that a technology has real impact on the world when Coca-Cola uses it to make you drink soda.

Double digit growth and no sign of stopping

All joking aside, it’s truly amazing just how fast the big data market is growing. According to IDC, the big data and business analytics market will grow from $122B to around $187B in the years 2015-2019[2]. It is a mind-boggling increase of over 50% in five years! IDC also predicts that the market is going to grow at a double-digit pace through 2020 as over 78 percent of all companies believe that the creative analysis of large datasets will have the highest impact on the evolution of business models in the upcoming years.

No one seems to be exempt from participating in the trend. Startups such as Aviso develop acclaimed big data solutions used in sales forecasting, changing the way companies sell their products. Corporations such as Coca-Cola use it to improve their efficiency. Individuals benefit from increased personalization and contextualization of products and services, driving even more demand for big data-enhanced solutions.

Sensitive like always, competitive like never before

All of these figures stated above are a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is no shortage of companies and investors attracted by them willing to jump in on the big data bandwagon with their own products and services. Before they do, they should realize one thing: big data has always been a particularly sensitive field and as time goes by it’s only going to get tougher.

Why is it sensitive? Partly, because of how delicate and personal data may be. Most importantly though, big data-enhanced solutions almost always need to be designed in a highly scalable way – with an eye on an ever-increasing demand for volume, variety and velocity (the famous 3V of big data). At the same time, the sophistication and efficiency of big data systems grows at a staggering rate, which makes competing in the field more and more of a challenge.

All of that means that more than ever you are going to need skilled and experienced software developers able to build solutions that can be possibly most conveniently expanded and improved upon in the future.

Read also: Big Data in Banking: How it Works, Who Benefits and What’s Next

Big data software development in Poland

When it comes to sophisticated and sensitive software projects, even the biggest risk-takers in the industry tend to be more careful and choose software development outsourcing partners that can provide them with the highest quality – even at a higher cost. It’s the right attitude – with projects like these, subpar development skills will eventually and inevitably cost you more than the wages of even the most costly developers. We have already covered why we believe that Polish software developers tend to provide great services and return on investment. As a result of that, it’s no surprise that many Polish software houses have experience in developing big data projects.

As Software Mind, we are particularly proud of our involvement in the Data Patrol project. It’s a great example of a big data product that uses advanced technologies to give ordinary people simple solutions to real problems. Data Patrol calls itself “an online guard-dog”. It monitors the web in search of any possibilities of data theft or disclosure, protecting both individuals and companies from all kinds of online frauds. The project called for the use of natural language processing (NLP) technologies as well as large volumes of data. Today, solutions like this are also eagerly employed by organizations that process sensitive data, including internet and electronic payment providers, insurance companies and banks.

Beyond software development – monetizing big data

Of course, engineering prowess is not all you need. A successful big data project needs to be build in response to a real market need and communicate the benefits it provides in possibly the most straightforward way. Often, companies mesmerized by the possibilities big data provides, purchase various solutions designed to enhance their sales, PR, inventory management and whatnot – only to find out that they don’t really know how to use them to really improve their performance. That alone doesn’t mean that these solutions aren’t useful. The likely problem is that their creators failed to clearly show how to make sense of the data to really benefit from it. In a long run, if you want your big data project to be successful, you need to be able to easily explain how it can be used to the benefit of your clients – making them more money or simply making their lives better.

And if you yourself are interested in developing innovative and successful big data solutions, you are most welcome to contact us. Let’s find the most effective way to turn your big data idea into reality!