In 2010, the world created, captured, and consumed over 2 zettabytes of data. Since then, data has exploded in growth. By 2025, we can expect over 181 zettabytes — the equivalence of 181 trillion gigabytes. Data is more relevant in today’s world than it ever has been. It’s now referred to by many as “the new oil,” given its incredible value as a resource.
“Big data” is simply a dataset which is too large and complex for an ordinary computing device to process. As higher computing power becomes readily available, the definition of big data changes. For example, in 2000 1 gigabyte would be considered big data. But in 2021, big data starts in the thousands of gigabytes.
97.2% of organizations are already investing in big data. That comes at no surprise as it is an incredibly valuable tool in any industry. Take Netflix for example. It boasts a whopping $1 billion savings per year in customer retention thanks to big data.
The core purpose of any big data strategy is to improve a company’s operations. The more data you have, the better the insights you can draw. It can be used to detect issues with your business assets in real-time. It can be used to track customer interactions and provide insights into marketing and sales. It can even be used to detect fraud and security breaches. The use cases are endless and the value is enormous.
There is a catch. Big data is not useful on its own. It needs artificial intelligence in order to bring any value. Artificial intelligence is what is used to rapidly analyze the data and make sense of it for you. That way you don't have to manually calculate billions of data points. Artificial intelligence presents you with the relevant insights you need as rapidly as possible.
At its core, HerdWhistle is a big data system for the beef industry. Sensors at the feed bunks and water troughs collect data 24/7 on each animal’s feeding behaviour. The endless amount of data is sent to the cloud where it is interpreted. Artificial intelligence analyzes it all to give ranchers an overview of the herd, as well as an individual animal profile. Ranchers can then optimize certain activities and decisions to improve the health, traceability, and feeding of their herd. As more sensors and data sets are added to improve the system, HerdWhistle becomes a powerful, growing source of livestock data.
Overall, the big data industry is poised for incredible growth over the next 5 years. It was a $138.9 billion global industry in 2020. By 2025, it is expected to reach $229.4 billion. That is a 10.6% compound annual growth rate. From agriculture and manufacturing to retail and food & beverage, big data is becoming the backbone of all industries.
