Just as the duo of Jobs and Wozniak forever changed computing, big data and the cloud are coming together in ways that are changing the world. From helping cities conserve energy and reduce crime, to aiding in the discovery of new disease-curing drugs, to predicting world weather patterns more accurately, the list of potential benefits of big data analytics in the cloud seems endless. What follows is a look at why these two technologies make such a powerful combination.
Big data analytics necessitates new processing and volume requirements to collect, analyze and visualize huge data sets. And those requirements make cloud computing a perfect match for big data. Providing virtually unlimited resources on demand, the cloud makes it easier and cheaper for enterprises to quickly scale up to the level of processing power and storage they need in order to obtain and benefit from big data insights.
The world is being overloaded with information at alarming speeds. With 2.8 Zettabytes of online content currently on the web, a smartphone explosion that will see 1 billion users by 2014, daily Twitter postings of 400 million tweets and 250 million photos uploaded to Facebook each day, it’s little wonder that 56% of today’s business leaders report being overwhelmed by the vast amount of data their companies are trying to manage. These feelings are not unfounded, given that today’s companies process 1,000 times more data than they did just a decade ago. In addition, 80% of the world’s data is unstructured, meaning that it is unorganized and cannot be analyzed by traditional means. Big data analytics allows companies to collect, store, manage and analyze both structured and unstructured data to obtain valuable insights. And the cloud allows them to do so more readily and more affordably—to gain a strong competitive advantage. In fact, surveys show that top-performing companies use data analytics five times more than industry underperformers.
Big data cloud computing is emerging as a game-changer for many businesses, and for many reasons. For example, fixed IT costs can be dramatically reduced through pay-as-you-go cloud services. And with the ability to rapidly predict and adapt to changing markets, companies can update their products and services to give them more real-time relevance. At the same time, cloud services allow businesses to rapidly scale resources up or down, depending on demand. And the ability to analyze data to provide insights into customer behaviors and patterns allows companies to deliver more targeted and personalized experiences. Another distinct advantage lies in the cloud’s ability to hide complexity, simplifying the process for finding real solutions to complex problems. Finally, the cloud has the power to change entire industries by allowing businesses to connect unrelated resources, processes and people in ways that were never before possible.
Clearly, the future of big data as a service has only just begun. As small and large enterprises and organizations continue to embrace big data analytics in the cloud, and this transformative technology becomes mainstream, the world will become a better place in which to live, work and play.
Author Bio: Gil Allouche is the Vice President of Marketing at Qubole. Gil began his marketing career as a product strategist at SAP while earning his MBA at Babson College and is a former software engineer. 
