By Simon Farr, Director of Customer Innovation.
Big Data has had the networked IT world buzzing for a while. But it’s only just getting started. The organisations who get ahead will need the cloud to connect their data silos for deeper insights into their customers.
We’re helping organisations harness Big Data to do some amazing things.
When every millisecond counts.
This year we’ve started working with Williams Martini Racing. Our fast, secure connections move data from the racetrack to team HQ, giving engineers real-time information on how the cars are performing. We’re helping Williams get ahead by exploiting the finest margins. An unusual example, but all kinds of organisations can get an advantage by harnessing data.
Probing patterns and processes.
We’re using it to help ourselves head off cyber security threats. With our SATURN software and big data analytics, we crunch through huge amounts of firewall data in minutes to spot attack trends and concentrated threats. SATURN then gives us a visual representation of what’s happening, so we can nip potential trouble in the bud.
We’ve also helped delivery company TNT speed up delivery times by 16 per cent by connecting their whole supply chain to they can track packages better.
And we’ve helped Milton Keynes use data to help improve public services. Sensors across the city have gathered data about everything from energy and water to transport for our information hub, developed with the Open University. One pilot has studied how the city uses parking spaces. Forecasts say Milton Keynes needs 12,000 more by 2020, but we’ve found 7,000 are empty at any one time – useful, potentially money-saving insight when new spaces cost £15,000 each.
From what’s happening to why it’s happening.
What’s next? The future will be about linking different sources of data together. That’s the key to understanding not just what’s happening but why it’s happening. Retailers, for example, can link data about how customers behave in stores with what they do online. Analysing that helps them create offers based on when and where the customer is shopping.
Getting insight fast means connecting cloud services from a central place. We’re doing that for our customers by acting as the mediator between them and their cloud services. And that’s opening up the opportunity to go from Big Data to Better Data.
Simon Farr is a speaker at the Broadband World Forum on 21 October.
