Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet rightly noted that it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. This famous consultant detective has solved perplexing investigations using data that continuously aided his deductive reasoning; that’s the power of data. It, therefore, only makes sense as NASSCOM sets the target of making India one among the top three big data and analytics market, in the next three years. But before we talk about the future, let’s first understand the big data industry in India, in its current avatar.
Big data industry in India – The current picture
Big data, can broadly be described as, a system that’s capable of handling the gargantuan size of data in various formats, be it volume, variety, or velocity. Digital and visualization capabilities are integrated by big data to secure business growth for understanding complex data patterns in business. India has witnessed the implementation of big data across industries, such as public health, finance, banking, and FMCG. According to K.S Viswanathan, Vice President, NASSCOM said that the big data sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26 percent over the next five years, expected to reach a value of $16 billion by 2025 and that by 2025, India will have a 32 percent share in the global market.
The big data industry currently employs around 90,000 people, across various different sectors, and such a growth is propelled by demand for cloud-based solutions and predictive analytics capabilities. With around 600 companies in this space, 400 being startups, a 100 were added in 2015 alone. While the North American IT services and analytics firms currently dominate the global market with their big data solutions, companies emerging in the Indian market are expected to catch up soon as this region is becoming a hub for high-end data solutions.
Big data industry India – Promising future
With big data analytics being employed by government agencies, for example, Aadhar and UPI, and private companies, big data industry in India has been making exponential growth. A shining example of how serious India is about its data comes from India’s biggest auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which has drafted a ‘Big Data Management Policy’ to improve their functions using big data. CAG aims to exploit the data-rich environment in the state and union governments, building capacity in the Indian audit and accounts department. Similarly, DISCOMs in India are capturing the data from sensors that are installed at the last mile of power consumption and analyzing it in association with historical power usage patterns to hypothesize what preventive measures can be taken for Aggregated Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses.
The most recent and perhaps also the largest entrant in the field of big data is Reliance Jio; envisioning Jio as ushering in digital data abundance. Slowly and steadily, even non-profits are turning to big data to increase the impact of their products and services, while optimizing their finances, for example, the Akshay Patra Foundation in Bangalore that uses data analytics to deliver food to schools in a cost-effective manner. The NITI Aayog, in its attempt to optimize private businesses and public goods and services, is furthering the development of India’s capability in big data; incorporating skills and human development and developing platforms that can compliment the rising demand.
While the use of big data technology faces challenges like applicability, storage, security, and scope, it also creates a new paradigm with data being created by various kinds of satellites, smartphones, sensors, and social sites. With rapid advancement in fields like AI and deep learning algorithms, the next phase of growth for big data industry in India is clearly visible.