Business ideas for 2013: Big Data

Mentioned at number three, but worthy of its own entry, Big Data will only get bigger. You’ve probably heard the phrase and may have wondered what it is. In 2013 it will go beyond the talk.

Innovation in online technologies has progressed at such a quick clip that it seems a period of consolidation is required.

By packaging up new technologies in the fields of cloud computing, social media, data management and augmented reality, businesses are creating practical and useful products that help other firms grow.

Simon Walker from business advisors Maidthorn Partners says: “If cloud and social were the hot buttons in 2012, it should come as no surprise that smart investors and entrepreneurs are looking at businesses that combine the two in 2013. For example, taking legacy databases and aggregating and repurposing them in the cloud is likely to be a hot trend.”

“It’s the age of Big Data,” says David Richards, CEO of fast-growing AIM-listed WANdisco, which provides software for global enterprises to meet these challenges. “80% of the world’s data was created in the last 18 months,” he adds.

And to give you a sense of how that could be possible, consider how much data is produced every single minute. Google receives over two million search queries, 48 hours of new video is uploaded on YouTube, and more than 200 million emails are sent. And that’s the tip of the iceberg.

That’s why the Big Data market is expected to be worth $50bn by 2017, up from $5bn today – and consultancy is likely to represent around 40% of that figure. It’s clear anything that makes sense of it all for a particular segment of the market has the potential to create enormous value.

Published Mar 2013