The global data generation has increased rapidly in the last two decades, both for volume and speed. With only 2 zettabytes of volume in 2010, it is expected to reach 181 zettabytes in 2025, according to Statista. This number is beyond measures of human comprehension.

It is now popularly known as Big Data – a collection of data that is huge in volume, obtained by organizations every day. Big Data has greater variety, sharp increase in volumes and more velocity. Its massive size and complexity cannot be managed by traditional data processing software.

The importance of data analysis may not be something new and it has been used over the centuries to support their decision making process. It was said, the ancient Egyptians tried to capture all existing data in the library of Alexandria, while the Roman Empire used data to analyze their military statistics.

In today’s digital world, big data analytics could help organizations utilize its data and identify new opportunities. Big data gives organizations more complete answers, which leads to a completely different approach to tackling problems. For the business world, big data analysis could support a cost reduction with more efficient ways of doing business, faster and better decision making, as well as creating new products and services.

Big Data for digital transformation

The industrial revolution 5.0 era is approaching, and making the digital transformation absolutely necessary. But the transformation is still incomplete until a business adopts the big data.

Indeed, with its massive volume and complexity, big data collection and analysis is crucial in achieving business prosperity mainly in this digital era. And here is how the big data can provide to support the transformation:

1. Deeper insights on customers and markets preference
   

   Big data analytics will supply a 360° view on customers as it collects data from various internal and external sources. This information is then analyzed and provided to the customer services, sales and marketing departments to support their daily operations. Companies can also reveal the local customers preference in certain areas, which may lead them to specific business strategies for these unique customers and markets.

2. Business strategy, product pricing and development
   

   Based on its data analysis result, companies may be able to evaluate its financial results from the revenues and customers’ transactions. This information will help companies in determining their business model and better pricing, so it could improve their income. On the other hand, big data analytics can help the company to review further trends on customers’ needs and satisfaction, thus they can improve the customers’  contentment.

3. Managing brand's reputation and customers loyalty
   

   The big data analytics tools may benefit if the company reviews and monitors netizens' feedback via the social media post, status or photos related to its products or brands. This tool can also support the company in developing its customers services and products in line with the customers’ desire. The customers’ transactional history in its digital record can also be utilized to create more personalized services, which will result in customer loyalty.

4. Business efficiency and operational savings

   The big data tools such as Hadoop and cloud-based analytic cost saving, may encourage the company to analyze and manage its data effectively. The analysis on operational cost or raw materials can create a more efficient operational process, with the reduction of unnecessary expenses and in search for lower cost-but higher quality raw materials.

5. Faster decision making and employee recruitment
   

   The big data tools and in-memory analytics may speed up the company’s decision making, as a result of its data analysis. Besides, big data may also help the HR department in scanning potential employees’ portfolios and profiles using keywords that match with the job descriptions. This process may also help recruiters in determining the nature of prospective employees, so they can select the candidate properly.

Flourishing with BigBox, Telkom’s big data analytics solutions

BigBox is an end-to-end big data platform, as a product of Telkom’s corporate innovation lab-Digital Amoeba. Its role is managing and interpreting data as an important key that can be optimized as a competitive advantage for Indonesia’s agencies and corporations.  

BigBox is part of the digital business focus developed by Telkom, to accelerate the company’s transformation into a digital telecommunication company. It is believed to serve as a leading big data analytics solution in Indonesia.

BigBox's key products include data integration, data lake, workflow management, search engine, data exploration and insight, realtime dashboard, API factory, and crawling engine, as stated by the International Data Center (IDC) Benchmark Analysis Report released in November 2020. These key services appear through seven modules namely BigLake, BigSpider, BigAction, BigSearch, BigQuery, BigBuilder, and BigEnvelope.

Furthermore, BigBox also has vertical platforms that include social media analytic platform: BigSocial, e-commerce analytic platform: BigMarket and one data management platform: BigOne - which will become a national platform Satu Data Indonesia.

Satu Data Indonesia is the government’s goal to increase the effectiveness of data-based policy making. This idea was stated by President Joko Widodo on 12 June 2019 through Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No.39/2019. This regulation covers the government data governance policies to produce data that is integrated, accurate, up-to-date, accountable, as well as easy to access and share.

So far, BigBox has been tested in various use cases for big data implementation, one of them is a project that integrates more than 7,000 gas stations data sources owned by the state-owned Pertamina. With its capability, BigBox boosts 99% of Pertamina’s data accuracy and reduces the risks of fraud.

Other businesses may not always be comparable to Pertamina but transforming it digitally via data analytics is feasible. One good news, this possibility can be achieved in just one click away via BigBox.