big dataIn a world so heavily dependent on technology, it is no surprise that new predictive tech and the ability to finally visualize big data in a fully interactive way are at the forefront of many of our industries today, creating what is fondly referred to as โ€œthe analytics bandwagon of 2017โ€. However, not every one of these industries which are now utilizing big data analytics to their benefit originally seemed to need said data visualization to succeed.

In fact, many of these industries may be surprising at first, but the outcome of this use of data analytics has taken them from their original spot in the past and catapulted them into the future of technology in business. With this said, five particular industries have truly grown the most since incorporating data analytics appropriately, and, as data scientists, it is highly important that we recognize this in order to be ahead of the data trends that matter the most. After all, trends are the foundation on which predictive data analytics are based and with which this future is built.

1. Small Business

For years, small business has primarily focused on small amounts of data analysis to succeed and simply learned how to recover after small business failures rather than how to succeed despite the odds. However, with tech giants such as IBM, SAS, and Microsoft offering affordable, cloud-based data-crunching services, it has become easier than ever for small businesses to cross-reference their data with the ever-expanding big data collections gathered through the analysis of social networks, government databases, and usage patterns on mobile devices, among other things.

With this said, the ability to tap into the big data of businesses worldwide in an affordable manner has allowed for these small companies to be able to not only review their own data but compare it to their competitors in order to predict current trends, find flaws in their current business model, and improve accordingly. This enables them to make more money, become a larger business, and be as, if not more, successful than other businesses in their given industry. By doing this, they are also able to find new trends in customer interaction and utilize new forms of technology, such as Javascript webcam and video ingest API, in order to interact with their client base in a more effective manner. This also reduces costs in human-to-human interaction which reduces call centers and increases profitability. Furthermore, it allows for customers to still feel like they are being interacted with in a personal manner as well.

Although these are all wonderful ways to utilize this data, small companies have also been able to use other sources, such as recorded calls and other forms of consumer behavior analytics, to cross-reference their internal-pricing histories, customer traffic patterns, and purchasing trends. By doing this, companies are able to predict customer needs before they arise, create targeted marketing campaigns, price items accordingly, and remove the human bias from small business in order to become more efficient and less opinion-based.

Furthermore, there are multiple different data analytics resources for small businesses to utilize nowadays that make it even more efficient than ever before. With this said, many small businesses turn to the internet and various sources of big data analytics in order to find their flaws, find the trends they seek, and analyze the aspects of their customer relations necessary to make themselves as efficient and successful as the companies they compare themselves to online. From there, they can finally take the guessing out of running a small business and know exactly what their customer wants and what their competitors offer with very little money invested whatsoever in the process.

2. Education Sector

With the dependency on technology consistently growing, more and more individuals have begun to recognize the advantages of online learning which has led to a tremendous boost in online students worldwide. However, it can often be difficult to analyze the data received from these online classes in order to improve as these students are located all around the world and have different study patterns and success rates. However, it is important that these online courses consistently improve as their onsite counterparts do, which creates a certain disparity in the education world regarding online classes and their success rates over time.

Therefore, it is important that these courses, along with their teachers and respective schools, consistently review any and all data they receive in order to find ways to improve and help students of all learning and success levels. For this, online teachers have begun to analyze time-based analytics, discussion board trends, and individual assignment success rates in order to analyze not only how students work but also when they work, as well as how they feel and interact with other online students.

By doing this, teachers have been able to recognize when to send out assignments based on the days that students are the most successful and engaged, tailor assignments according to what these individuals are successful in or lacking in, and also discuss various subjects with classes based on their opinions of certain assignments likewise in order to help these online students succeed. It also helps teachers disseminate all the information they actually need and learn the information that they need to be successful in the field they hope to soon be a part of. In the end, this allows for educators to improve online courses through data analytics and compile the data for future classes in order to analyze how successful not only the school is but certain generations as well.

3. Insurance Industry

With an industry that is heavily invested in data analytics such as the insurance industry, it comes as no surprise that insurance and technology tend to grow side by side in most cases. In fact, although a large portion of the insurance industry was unaware of just how valuable their analytics were, many insurance companies have begun to provide this information to their counterparts in order to not only help them recognize how implementing analytics for tangible results can increase their business but also to create an industry that is connected and ever-expanding likewise.

Furthermore, by using data analysis to their benefit, these companies are also able to tap into big data analytics and compare their analytics accordingly. Through this process, entrepreneurs can streamline costs, be more targeted with the risks they want to take in business and the demographics and consumers they reach, identify new customers, and predict fraud โ€” which is a major issue in the insurance industry as of late. Therefore, the insurance industry could not only learn how to be more productive and transition their efforts from agents and distribution channels to end customers but also learn how to prevent some of the major data security concerns in their industry through fraud prevention..

This ultimately means that data itself could actually be able to predict its insecurity and oust hackers before they ever have the chance to hack the companies they intend to. On top of this, by gathering data from their companies regarding telematics devices, smart phones, social media, CCTV footage, electoral rolls, credit reports, website analytics, government statistics, and satellite data, they will soon be able to also recognize consumer trends. Not only will this make insurance easier to receive but also make it cheaper for consumers as well, which will help the company to make their guest services more automated and reduce costs of person-to-person interaction. With all of this in mind, it is clear that data analytics have a definitive position in the insurance industry and will continue to improve insurance and its efficiency each and every day as well.

4. Travel Industry

The travel industry is one that is heavily focused on convenience, affordability, and comfort. Because of this, it is highly important that anyone in the travel industry pays close attention to their convenience analytics, as well as their budget analytics of their business, to provide a more affordable option than their competitors and a more convenient one as well.

In fact, by analyzing trends in their competitors reviews, budgets, consumer interactions, and site UX, these companies can provide a more convenient and affordable option that will ultimately attract more people. Furthermore, they can also look into their competitors demographic in comparison to the things that entice said demographic in universal big data so as to know how their competitors are marketing and how they should do so to be more enticing to the relevant demographic.

On top of this, these companies can also create new marketing strategies using predictive analytics trends in order to attract new potential markets likewise. For instance, many companies in the travel industry tend to market themselves to young adventurous demographics. Despite this, a large part of the market is lost as retirees also love to travel to foreign destinations as well. Therefore, by recognizing this trend, these companies can target more than one demographic in an efficient way and not only increase their reach but also their profitability over time.

Furthermore, many travelers have begun to recognize the benefits of medical tourism as well. Medical tourism is when a patient travels outside of the country or state in order to receive medical care. With so many stipulations on medical care now becoming major issues in America, this option has become more and more enticing to individuals dealing with medical issues that are often uninsured or extremely expensive in the states.

Therefore, by analyzing the medical tourism analytics involved in medical travel, travel companies can also find ways to market towards these individuals specifically โ€” in order to open up their company to an entirely new and unique market and their trends before anyone else. Through this, these travel companies can ultimately create a far more profitable and inclusive market which will not only help the travel economy but also promote global travel for all as well.

5. Healthcare Industry

Although medical tourism is definitely one aspect of the healthcare industry being significantly affected by analytics, there are so many more that. By acquiring the right forms of data, can allow the healthcare industry to be able to provide more informed care, predict future outbreaks or disease, and take preventive care to an entirely new level as well.

On top of this, this will ultimately allow healthcare professionals to predict and prevent fraud which will further secure online patient records. With the recent WannaCry ransomware attack attacking the healthcare industry heavily, this could help these hospitals to be able to recognize risks and remove them before they significantly affect their patients.

Furthermore, this could also significantly help rural healthcare initiatives as it would allow for healthcare professionals to monitor patients in real-time in order to help them and also predict conditions even when they are not anywhere near a hospital. Not only would this lower the amount of diseases and deaths in rural America but it would also allow for healthcare professionals to provide affordable healthcare to individuals unable to pay for current insurance prices likewise.

Therefore, by using predictive data analytics in the healthcare world, the industry could ultimately lower the amount of rural and uninsured deaths yearly, as well as provide more informed preventive care as well and remove the risks of data breaches likewise, which would ultimately lead to a more efficient, affordable, and secure healthcare system for all.

In the end, there are many ways that professionals in various industries are currently utilizing big data analytics to their benefit, but the opportunities still remain endless, and, perhaps in time, these analytics could not only help to make our world a more efficient and affordable place but also help us to predict and formulate a brighter future for our children and the world of tomorrow as well.