Big Data and Analytics: Prospects, Challenges, and the Way Forward

2. Background, Focus And Research Method

The development trajectory of human civilization has witnessed radical transformation through several industrial revolutions. Throughout history, beginning with the discovery of steam engines, followed by the emergence of fossil fuel-based engines, and the evolution of integrated business models, human society has now entered the information age. In the evolving information age, a significant portion of world affairs relies on computing power and wider applications of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Presently, approximately 40% of the global population is connected online, over 1.5 billion websites are operational, Google handles an average of more than 40,000 search queries per second, and nearly 650 million Tweets are posted on Twitter (Internet Live Stats, 2023; Bulao, 2023). These statistics undeniably highlight that we are living in a data-driven world that is constantly evolving, offering abundant opportunities but also posing substantial challenges.

Big data has immense potential for various industries by producing precise insights about diverse products and services. The utilization of data-driven technologies holds promising prospects for enhancing productivity, improving trade intelligence, addressing societal challenges, fostering research and innovation, reducing costs, and expediting performance across various fields. Big data opens up a new horizon for innovation, competition, and productivity (Manyika et al., 2011).