The future’s bright – The future’s BIG DATA. What’s there in 2021 for Big Data?

We are moving slowly into an era where Big Data is the starting point, not the end.

– By Pearl Zhu, Digital Master

In the past few years, big data has taken the digital world by storm.

With more companies joining the big data bandwagon, it is quite evident that the data wave is here to stay.

A striking feature of technology is that it evolves continuously.

Thus, big data too has seen vast changes within a short period.

But What is big data?

The term refers to voluminous quantities of data that cannot be processed using traditional data processing means. It is data that grows exponentially with time.

Big Data – The Hot Trend

What makes the big data concept so popular?

While big data by itself may not be of much use, when the right processing tools are available, it can provide invaluable insights regarding sales and customer satisfaction among a host of other things.

That is why several companies are joining the data revolution.

Big Data Trends for 2021

As we gear up to welcome a new year, what does 2021 hold for big data?

What are the expected big data trends in the coming year? Let us learn!

1. Big data to combat climate change

Climate change happens to be one of the major global issues today.

There are several steps that are being taken to actively control the effects of climate change, especially in low-lying nations.

In 2021, it is expected that scientists would rely more on big data and analysis tools to observe patterns related to climate change.

Analysis of big data can also aid in predicting the effects of climate change. It can help minimize the dangers or plan risk mitigation strategies ahead of time.

Real-time data from various sources such as satellites and meteorological centres combined with advanced data processing tools are sure to help climate scientists bring a positive change.

2. Emergence of actionable data

Companies are undoubtedly inching towards better data collection capabilities to support the storage and processing of big data.

However, without appropriate tools for analysis, one cannot make full use of the available data. Also, with the passing time, the collected data becomes less usable.

Actionable data refers to data that gives the decision-makers clarity on what action needs to be taken to draw insights from data.

Usually, a lot of time is lost in cleaning and processing.

But it is expected that in 2021, more businesses will move towards ensuring that most of their data is actionable.

3. Big data in Health and Medicine

All businesses irrespective of geographical location would benefit from big data’s application in medicine.

A healthy population is one of the greatest assets of any country.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has demanded a more extensive role of big data in the medical field.

Google’s deep learning program christened Deepmind achieved a breakthrough by determining the 3D shapes of proteins from their amino acid sequences.

The model AlphaFold utilized a whopping 170,000 structures as training data.

It has solved a 50-year old problem decades before scientists expected to arrive at the solution.

As more companies invest in training classification and prediction models, 2021 could be the year in which big data serves its full potential in creating a healthier tomorrow.

4. Augmented Analytics to the forefront

The amount of data being generated is on the rise.

As the volume of data grows enormously, there is a need to develop techniques to support the smooth handling of data.

Augmented analytics is an umbrella term for technologies that employ machine learning and NLP to automate data preparation, sharing and analysis.

At present, data scientists spend more than half of their time in data cleaning. With augmented analytics, one can easily automate repetitive processes and there can be more focus of finding insights.

The use of augmented analytics leads to hyper-automation – a situation where the initial stages of data processing are automated.

With more time in hand, hyper-automation in 2021 will give data scientists an opportunity to concentrate more on analyzing data.

5. Big data and Cloud Computing

Given the rate at which we are generating data, there will be a great need for advanced ways to store, retrieve and access big data.

In the coming year, experts predict that cloud computing will take center stage to aid in handling big data.

Today, there is a high demand for the ability to access data from anywhere. Cloud computing makes that achievable.

Cloud computing provides promising resources to handle the humongous data burst.

Thus, it is expected that cloud computing will make big data more accessible.

6. Renewed interest in Blockchain Technology

Big data does not work as a standalone concept.

It is only through collaborations with other contemporary technologies that one can achieve innovations.

As we enter in 2021, people are better aware of the inner workings of blockchain technology.

Thus, data scientists speculate if it can help guarantee better security for big data.

2021 will see tech giants attempt associations between big data and blockchain to secure data.

7. Demand for Big Data Professionals in 2021

Breakthroughs in technology also mean that there will be several new job roles and opportunities.

The future looks bright for big data enthusiasts as data processing/analysis skills are in demand.

The emergence of new roles such as Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Data Analytics Manager will bring more opportunities to the table.

As big data makes its way through multiple fields – medicine, retail, automotive and so on, the next year looks promising for data science professionals across fields.

Summary

Overall, 2021 will be a year of technological innovations in big data.

With new market demands, advanced capabilities and exciting possibilities, one can expect 2021 to be an eventful year for all the businesses involved in the big data industry.

Automation in data science would save a lot of time leading to a more productive workforce.

The year will mark the beginning of collaborations between big data and several other technologies – IoT, blockchain, cloud computing and so on.

As we ride the data wave, privacy and data security remain a glaring concern.

However, the use of blockchain technology and private clouds may help in addressing those concerns.