Big Data is large data sets which are complex and also the traditional data techniques have become inadequate to handle them. Where some industries are claiming that it is the biggest development since the birth of Internet others are saying that it is the key to many technological advancements.

People make use of Smartphone, laptops, computer on a regular basis as a result companies are now able to collect and store huge amount of data, known as Big Data. Obtaining useful data from this huge bunch of information may be a challenge but the importance of this data will increase in the long run. The private information about the consumer's preferences on blogs and social media depicts the fact that businesses have now understood the needs of their customers and on certain occasions can predict their future purchases as well.

Big Data is not just restricted to the online market but it can also be seen within brick and mortar stores through certain methods like 'loyalty programs' which are based on customer's buying habits and preferences. This further allows the company to forward personalized ads and discounts to the customer with respect to their taste.

The leading subscription service Netflix is a perfect example which is meeting the needs of its customers through the usage of big data. These types of media-service provider conduct a heavy research on their customers' view and what would they wish to see in future. With regard to the viewers' preference, Netflix is able to identify the most popular genres, series and movies. They also recommend different series and movies to their viewers, by making use of this big data.

Big data is contributing to law enforcement and health services as well. The big data is being used to digitize medical records which helps the professionals to keep a check that whether a particular treatment was effective in past or not. There are health-related apps which use big data to monitor sleep patterns, heartbeat and steps covered per day. Big data is helping the police officials in predicting the crimes which are most likely to occur thereby helping them to be prepared in advance.

Big data has gained a lot of prominence in the past few years and will continue to grow like this. Other firms have to buck up in the race if they are not making use of the big data as they will be left behind by their competitors.