There can be no doubt that in today's digital-heavy world, data is king. It has an impact on so many aspects of our everyday lives, and with the Internet of Things concept gaining traction, big data isn't going anywhere.

With so much data being produced and distributed - IBM estimates that 90% of today's data was produced in the last two years alone - it's vital that businesses have a deep understanding of how it affects them, in order to be able to plan and adapt accordingly. Managing and analysing big data is already a big challenge for many companies; will yours be able to cope with its demands in the future?

Data Challenges: The Four Dimensions

There are four different dimensions that define big data; volume, variety, velocity and veracity. By looking at these metrics we are not only able to see what is currently happening in business, but also how the future looks. With the Internet of Things (IoT) set to see billions of devices connected to the internet (and each other) within the next few years, companies will need to track more data than ever before, so it is vital that businesses make sure they adapt to be able to handle it; understanding these different dimensions is an important first step.

Volume – The Scale of Data

This refers to the amount of data being created every second; be it from phones, cameras, social media, purchases, cars, to name just a few. As is shown in the infographic below from Smart Insights, the quantities of digital data being produced are vast; nearly 150,000 emails were sent and 3.3 million Facebook posts created every single second in 2016.

To get more of an idea of just how much data is currently being produced every day, just look at the statistics below...

• According to research from Ericsson, there will be 6.1 billion smartphone users globally by 2020.
• An estimated 1.2 trillion photos will have been taken by the end of this year, as notes InfoTrends.
• IBM estimates that by 2020, 40 zettabytes (43 trillion gigabytes) of data will have been created.

As you'd expect, the real challenge in these huge amounts of data being produced is being able to store and manage it in an efficient way. As the stats demonstrate, big data isn't going anywhere - far from it - so businesses need to ensure they can handle it by using the right technology coupled with a methodical system. In order to do so, it's important to stay up to date with the tools that are currently being used in your industry – using a technology insights platform is often a good place to start.

Variety – The Different Forms of Data

Nowadays, we use numerous different types of data, and these variations look very different to big data of the past. Basically, all data fits into two categories; structured and unstructured. Unlike the data of the past, 90% of today's data is unstructured, according to IBM. To get a better grasp of what this means, the two forms can be summarised in the following ways:

• Structured Data - These are the traditional types of data, which, as the name suggests, can be easily fit into a database. For example, things like names, phone numbers, dates, financial figures, addresses, etc. These types of data will always follow a specific set of rules; money will always be numbers and decimal points and addresses will always be text.
• Unstructured Data - This type of data, on the other hand, isn't defined by rules, and as a result, convey ideas in different ways. Data in this category includes things like photos, video, audio, and social media posts; things that all require human understanding to make sense of what is being said.

One of the biggest data types that is set to shape the way we consume content is video; it's usage is growing and incredible rates and is predicted to do so for years to come. As is shown in the graph below, wearable devices such as smartwatches and exercise gadgets like Fitbit are also becoming more and more prevalent.

Both of these require large amounts of data being stored, and as with all types of data we use now and in the future, up to date systems are needed to be able to handle it. In order to use structured and unstructured data harmoniously, businesses should pay attention to the innovative technology being created which allows us to manage and use the two types simultaneously.

Velocity: The Analysis of Streaming Data

This relates to the speed at which these huge amounts of data are being created and handled. For example:

• There are over 60,000 Google searches performed every single second of every day.
• The New York Stock Exchange captures around 1 terabyte of data each day.
• In eight years' time, we will interact with connected devices nearly 4,800 times per day, as notes Forbes.

As is shown in the infographic below, these statistics are only going to increase over time, with more and more images, emails and social media posts etc being created every single day. All of this data needs to be collected, stored and then analysed.

What's vital for today's big data when it comes to the latter factor, is that it must be done so instantaneously, in order for someone to complete a purchase in real time, for example. This is where today's big data technology comes in, allowing such data to be analysed at the point of its creation, without the need to transfer it to a database as part of the process.

Veracity: The Uncertainty of Streaming Data

Veracity is the quality and accuracy of the data. Whether it's a typo in a social media post, an incorrect link in an email or stale contact information in an email list, having trustworthy data is vital. As is shown in the image below, poor quality data is a big reason why many businesses fail to reach their targets - and these stats further illustrate this point:

• IBM estimates that the annual cost of bad data in 2016 was $3.1 trillion for the US alone.
• According to StartUp Britain, 80 new business are set up every single hour in the UK alone - making it hard to manually keep up with company changes for B2B purposes.
• 94% of businesses suspect that their customer data is wrong or incomplete, according to a study from Dynamic Markets.

Having access to highly accurate data is essential for any business – particularly when it comes to prospecting; the entire success of your campaigns basically relies on it. This point is driven home by research from Internet Retailer, who found that 29% of companies have lost customers thanks to incorrect data in their email management systems.

Thankfully, there is an easy, cost-effective solution to this widespread problem; Global Database provides fresh, regularly-updated leads for decision-makers in over 190 countries, all with direct contact details. We understand the importance of clean data; which is why we have numerous and consistent checks and validations - giving us one of the highest accuracy ratings in the industry. To see our platform in action, take a look at this short video.

Big data has a huge impact on our lives, and will continue to do so, in an even bigger way, in the future. Businesses need to be prepared to ensure that they have the right technology and systems in place in order to store and analyse all types of data efficiently - and making sure that this data can be trusted is an extremely important part of the puzzle.