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What is Big Data?

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Say hello to Data Cloud.

Data Cloud, the only data platform native to Salesforce, unlocks and harmonizes data from any system — so you can better understand your customers and drive growth.

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Gartner named Salesforce a Leader in Customer Data Platforms. See why.

75 %
of business leaders agree that organizations using analytics to make data-driven decisions achieve significant revenue gains.
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92 %
percent of leaders emphasize the importance of a robust data strategy, but only 34% claim to have one implemented across their business.
87 %
of employees rate basic data skills as very important for their day-to-day operations — and that same percentage of business owners expect basic data skills from their employees at all levels.

Big Data FAQ

Big data refers to extremely large, diverse datasets that grow at high velocity, making them too complex for traditional data processing applications. It’s characterized by its volume, velocity, and variety, offering deep insights when analyzed.

The "3 Vs" of big data are volume, referring to the immense amount of data generated. Velocity, the speed at which data is created, collected, and processed. And variety, encompassing the many different types and formats of data.

Big data is crucial because it provides valuable, actionable insights that enable better decision-making, helps identify emerging trends, improves customer experiences through personalization, and drives innovation in products and services.

Businesses use big data for a wide range of applications, including predictive analytics, targeted marketing campaigns, robust fraud detection, optimizing operational processes, and the development of new data-driven products and services.

Technologies designed for big data processing include distributed computing frameworks like Hadoop and Spark, NoSQL databases for flexible storage, and various cloud-based data platforms. These enable efficient storage, processing, and analysis.

Analyzing big data yields numerous benefits, such as a deeper understanding of customer behavior, improved operational efficiency, effective risk mitigation strategies, and significant competitive advantages through data-driven insights and innovation.