SÃO PAULO, Brazil (July 1, 2016) — The copious amounts of structured and unstructured data generated around the world from multiple sources have transformed competitive environments, according to Frost & Sullivan research.
In an analysis of the big data and analytics market in Latin America, the combined markets of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia generated revenue of $538.3 million in 2015 and are expected to reach $1.96 billion by 2020 for a compound annual growth rate of 29.4 percent, according to Frost & Sullivan.
Converting unstructured data, such as tweets and posts, as well as structured data into relevant information within the business environment has become critical to the decision-making process, Frost analysts said. Without high-quality data, it can be extremely challenging to provide a single view of the customers and their behavior, and to map all their points of interaction with the organization.
“The valuable insights generated by analytics give enterprises across verticals a significant competitive advantage and eventually, positive business outcomes,” said Leandro Scalize, digital transformation consultant. “Big data enjoys considerable acceptance in the financial vertical, mainly in risk management, credit scoring, customer analytics and fraud detection.”
While companies are gradually becoming familiar with the term, not many know how to harness the benefits of big data, Frost said. One of the main reasons for this is that most companies do not have much expertise in analyzing data to aid in business decisions.
Companies tend to invest in big data projects to solve a specific business issue, but do not incorporate data analytics as part of a broader and pervasive strategy, Frost & Sullivan said.
Frost & Sullivan suggested that IT vendors need to present successful case studies and demonstrate the advantages of big data and analytics to potential customers. Companies need to be made aware that big data and analytics will help them identify customers and their purchase habits, segment them, establish better ways to interact with them, and customize offers according to their needs, the research company said.
Frost noted that once Internet of Things becomes more prevalent, companies will need to invest in analytics tools to glean actionable information from these sources or they will have to find the right partners to benefit from the big data being generated from connected devices.