Oracle Forecasts Big Things for Big Data this Year

Companies generate massive amounts of data, and this will rise exponentially as new computers and sensors are connected to the system.

This huge amount of data is unusable if companies do not know how to manage it and transform it effectively.

Multinational computer technology corporation Oracle forecasts 2018 will be the year when laggards will finally make the move to cloud, late adopters of big data will see immense benefits straight away, and those using artificial intelligence (AI) will drive the most insights.

Samina Rizwan, Oracle senior director for big data and analytics for Middle East and Africa, says Oracle has been in the business of big data since before it became the buzzword it is today.

She says the conversation around big data should be expanded to include analytics, AI, the Internet of things (IOT) and machine learning (ML), all encapsulated in the cloud.

“In the end, we are talking about a data management cycle, and managing all data – not just packets.”

She notes there is huge curiosity around big data at the moment in the innovative space of technology, although adoption is still new to some businesses.

However, this will change this year, as companies see the benefits and realise they will be left behind if they don’t catch up.

Rizwan pointed to a study by Forrester, which predicts businesses that use AI, big data and IOT to uncover new business insights will take $1.2 trillion per annum from their less informed peers by 2020.

Rizwan says her first prediction for this year is that companies that have not yet implemented a cloud or hybrid solution will soon do so.

“We have seen that 80% of data is moving towards cloud; very soon a lot more of the remaining data will too.

“The advantages that users are telling us about are far outweighing on-site data storage advantages.”

Rizwan says she does not know of any region in the Middle East and Africa that is ignoring cloud.

In a survey of Oracle cloud clients, the company found: “Cloud-mature companies have greater capacity for data analytics.

More than 60% of the cloud-mature group report a greater ability to analyse most types of data, in addition to improved automation and visualisation, based on ML. More than half also point to strong capabilities with non-relational data.”

Rizwan says: “We are seeing fewer and fewer companies deciding to stay on-premises. The CIOs of today are no different from the CIOs from yesterday. They want flexibility, some quick wins along the way, and need to show business value.