A quarter of Australian businesses already embracing big data

More than one-in-four Australian organisations with more than 20 employees has already embraced big data apps and services, according to figures released by market research firm Telsyte.

The figures, published in the Telsyte Australian Big Data and Analytics Study 2014, forecast that figure to reach 65% by 2018.

Big data refers to the process of extracting useful information out of large databases through techniques such as data mining and machine learning.

A number of factors are fuelling the rapid growth rate. These include more customer interactions occurring through digital channels, better use of available real-time data from existing IT/device infrastructure and improved business/analytics tools.

“Increasing data volumes are being driven by emerging technology including smarter mobile devices, the Internet of things, online e-commerce, and retail POS activity,” Telsyte senior analyst Rodney Gedda said in the report.

The report also shows most big data storage is done on-premises, but 30% of organisations intend to move this to the cloud within the next 12 months.

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