The result of a representative survey of 553 industry companies on behalf of the digital association Bitkom e.V. shows that every fourth machine in German factories these days is intelligent and works in a networked arrangement. Due to the additional steady progress of digitization and the use of different IT systems and technologies, companies are being confronted with an increasing complexity caused by the exponentially growing information sources and quantities. Thus, the International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates a data volume, one which companies are going to store in 2025, of more than 100 trillion gigabyte – 10 times as large as that in 2016.
But what are the consequences of this data tsunami, and how can we draw useful conclusions from this wealth of information?
Since every company depends on analyses and since business decisions can only be met based on business-critical data, the entirety of this data needs to be captured, stored, and evaluated. In doing so, information is distributed in many cases across heterogeneous sources like ERP and CRM systems as well as across flat files and calculation tables. Subsequently, the data is isolated with data warehouse and business intelligence applications. The use of the information gained is quite versatile – in many cases, however, passive and restricted to static reports that are limited in time. A comprehensive analytic view that based on the data diversity shows a global picture and an extended perspective is barely ever applied.
This inactive potential of valuable information needs to be utilized effectively, though. Therefore, the objective of a modern and future-oriented company should be to make real-time use of the data flood as a dynamic resource, so that decisions in all departments can be met in a faster and more profound way, with all framework conditions being considered. Therefore, companies need to adjust to the present short-lived business environment and face the challenge of filtering and qualifying the raw material “valuable information” from the remaining data flood.
This enormous data explosion however cannot be solved by humans with traditional means; it is a technologically advanced task. The reason for that is that in many cases, companies are in use of both systems from several producers as well as different deployment models (on-premises, cloud, hybrid), of which the intelligent convergence is necessary. But how can these heterogeneous data sources be integrated in a holistic data pool?
A task of that complexity requires intelligent support – for example by means of the Oracle Analytics Cloud. The Oracle platform delivers far more than 50 connectors for linking a multitude of business applications (also hybrid) of different producers. Additionally included is a direct connection to both Oracle SaaS applications as well as to several database systems such as Big Data, NoSQL as well as ODBC/JDBC. This is what makes the Oracle Analytics Cloud a flexible platform for virtually any company. The data from all added sources are merged and managed on the platform. This way, the Oracle Analytics Cloud presents a central solution for analyses, the so-called “single source of truth”, and offers companies a wide range of functions.
Composed with the help of self-service functions, the data is then intelligently enriched, supplemented or hidden by means of self-learning mechanisms – without affecting the respective source system. This way, for example, a data set containing information about a city is supplemented intelligently with information about the respective state. In regards to sensible data such as credit card or social security numbers on the other hand, only the four last digits are shown. With the help of wide-ranging visualization features, meaningful graphics can be created automatically and customized in individual ways. Beyond that, the intelligent link of persons, locations, data and systems enables a collaborative and proactive analysis across all departments. The needed data is made available anywhere and at any time and can be called up in real time on mobile devices. This way, information can be analyzed and interpreted in a completely new way.
This flexible approach makes it possible to rapidly and simply meet profound business decisions based on the gained knowledge. By doing so, the Oracle Analytics Cloud helps to achieve efficiency and places companies into a leading position. This creates real added value and a unique edge in this fast-paced world.
Author: Alexander Kraetke
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