The 8 Big Data Trends Industry Pros Are Watching

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With an ever-growing list of professions and use-cases surrounding big data, trends have emerged in how that data is collected, organized and used.

Obviously, developments in big data mean different things to different companies. We spoke to data pros at eight tech companies to learn more about the big data trends they’re keeping up with and how they’re impacting business operations. Social Determinants & Intuition

Trusting one’s gut is a practice that can lead to success in many professions. But data science is not typically seen as one of them, since trusting numbers is generally considered safer than trusting instincts. However, Data Science Manager David Thompson at Pareto Intelligence said that sentiment is changing. The leader at the healthtech company said intuition plays an increasingly large role in how industry pros work with big data.

What are the top big data trends you’re watching that are significantly impacting the industry?

Lately, and rightfully so, there has been a significant focus on social determinants of health — the conditions in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age that impact health status. Healthcare has been slow to arrive here, but trends are showing that nearly everyone in the industry is agreeing that there are benefits to considering everything about a person when assessing overall health and developing strategies for improving health. There is already an overwhelming volume of health-related data about each person, and SDOH adds even more layers to that.

“As we continue to nearly drown in messy and erroneous data, I believe intuition will begin to play an even larger role in analytics.”

I have been watching the re-emergence of intuition in developing analytic strategies. While originally an enemy of data science, intuition seems to be acting more like an ally. Data scientists and analysts that have been working with big data for a while seem to have developed a recalibrated intuition that is rooted in deep experience with the data rather than general experience within the industry only. And as we continue to nearly drown in messy and erroneous data, I believe intuition will begin to play an even larger role in analytics. […]