Big data is everywhere.

It seems everyone is talking about it, but there’s still so much confusion around it.

To top it off, more data is coming in every day, faster than before, and in formats not easily synchronized. Businesses need ways to store it, access it and turn it into a competitive edge.

But how?

What are the best ways to leverage big data? How can it be used to make better decisions? And what about security and ownership of big data in the cloud?

If you wrestle with these questions, you’re not alone.

Understanding the Big Data Beast

Most businesses find that the most challenging aspects of big data are volume, velocity and variety. Let’s take a look at each of these areas:

Volume. The amount of data streaming into businesses every day is astounding. Consider that:

• 90 percent of the data in the world today was created within the past two years.
• In just one year, 1.8 zettabytes of data were created — expected to increase to more than 7.8 zettabytes by 2015. A zettabyte is a one followed by 21 zeros.

Velocity. The speed of data bombarding businesses often confounds normal handling processes.

Variety. The types of data are changing, with more “unstructured” data in video, audio, log file and click stream formats. Add this to “structured” data that is organized and neatly stored in conventional databases, and it soon becomes clear: That’s a lot of data.

Unlocking Big Data With the Cloud

While the appeal of cloud ERP is at an all-time high among manufacturers, some express concerns about data security and ownership in the cloud. By and large, these concerns are based on outdated perceptions.

Manufacturers looking to adopt cloud technology need state-of-the-art software, facilities and security. Add to that list a staff of highly trained, accessible and experienced professionals. You’ll find all of this and more in the Plex Manufacturing Cloud. Procedures and equipment have been designed around rigorous Type II SAS 70 certification.

Cloud-based technology is tailor-made for big data processing, storage and manipulation, and recent innovations in virtualization and distributed computing have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

For example, Plex’s Cloud ERP servers currently host more than 142 terabytes of data for production, test and development environments. That’s more than 140 million megabytes. Our cloud-based storage services offer companies the bandwidth they need to take advantage of big data.

When you combine all of this, it’s easy to see that the Plex Manufacturing Cloud makes taming the Big Data Beast a much easier — and more profitable — process.

Read more about misconceptions (and the truth) about big data in the cloud, then join us at one of our upcoming roadshows to see the Plex Manufacturing Cloud in action.

What are your top concerns about big data?