Big data is big news right now. As data collection and analysis technology reaches exciting new heights, big data unlocks new ways of doing business. But like any nascent tech, it comes with problems. 

Below, we’re looking at five big data problems to watch for in your business. 

White Noise 

One of the biggest big data problems lies in sifting through the noise in any given data set. The bigger the data, the louder the noise.  

In an ideal world, big data would resolve into big solutions. But to analyze big data, you need to unknot the tangle that it represents, separating signal and noise, controlling for variables. In many ways, big data analysis resembles a scientific study more than the kind of reports you might be used to. 

Big Security 

With data security so prominent in the news cycle, you would be crazy to ignore the security implications of handling vast amounts of often private data. 

Yet the penalties for mishandling data, big or small, can be huge. The impact can range from damage to your reputation to serious legal ramifications that could destroy your business. 

Keeping It Real 

It’s a live world we live in now. We receive news, communicate, and update our records in real-time. Keeping up with that kind of pace can have a serious impact on big data efforts. Breaking news or trending topics can shake up a big data set in seconds, or leave a recent analysis as old news. 

But it takes some serious company bandwidth to handle big data in real-time. Finding that sweet spot between obsolescence and live data can be a struggle even before you get deep into the data. 

Data Silos 

Big data depends on joining up your data sources to reveal the largest possible picture for the data you’re trying to analyze. 

That’s where data silos become the downfall of big data. When data is held in silos (i.e. not joined up), it can’t come together for analysis. 

If you’ve ever had to pull together a month-end report from disparate systems, then you already know the pain of data silos. Now imagine that, but on an enormous scale. 

Mind the Skill Gap 

Businesses already fall short of their IT needs in so many ways, from budgetary restrictions to the struggle of finding staff with the appropriate qualifications. Big data takes that second problem and inflates it still further. 

Big data is still a relatively young field in what is, even now, the relatively young industry of IT. Finding staff skilled enough to handle your big data needs is tough — and made more so by what you’ll have to pay them as a result. 

Big Data Problems 

Big data holds a staggering array of potential benefits to modern business, but big data problems can prevent you from tapping into them. By keeping these pitfalls in mind, you can find workarounds that will keep your company at the cutting edge. 

Looking for more tech insights? Make sure to check back often. 

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