The Advantages of Real-Time Data Analytics

There are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day, according to IBM. To put that number in perspective, 2.5 quintillion pennies laid out flat would cover the earth five times!

The amount of data will continue to grow exponentially as the Internet of Things (IoT) expands. Smart devices — from smartphones to sensors and wearables — make it easier to capture ever-greater volumes of data. At our current pace, it’s estimated that 1.7MB of data will be created every second for every person on earth.

The faster organizations are able to turn all of this raw data into useful insights, the better they can identify and respond to trends in performance. As such, investing in real-time data analytics is a must for any business that wants to get ahead of the curve.

Here are three advantages of real-time data analytics that can help your organization succeed:

Get insights right away

The most obvious benefit of real-time data analytics is that there’s no waiting. When integrating with data collection systems like CEMs or ERP, data is captured at the source. It can then process, and be visualized in the blink of an eye.

Compare that to manually processing and compiling data, which can take days or weeks to yield meaningful results. It’s easy to see why spending on real-time analytics is predicted to grow three times as fast as other types of analytics, according to Gartner.

Make decisions based on timely data

Much like the gallon of milk in the back of your fridge, data has an expiration date. In fact, 69% of all the data collected by organizations today has lost most, if not all, of its business, legal, or regulatory value, according to the Compliance, Governance, and Oversight Council (CGOC).

By contrast, real-time data offers the freshest insights. For example, imagine you notice a spike in energy usage over your last few utility bills. Without real-time usage information, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint the source of the problem.

Using current data, however, you can identify the particular process or piece of equipment that is wasting energy and correct the issue. This capability can mean the difference between an organization earning or losing thousands of dollars.

React without delay

The majority of the time, real-time data analysis can help you avoid serious events and non-conformances. This can be done by notifying you before a problem occurs.

However, in the event of a sudden and unforeseeable problem — such as an equipment malfunction — real-time data analytics helps companies react quickly and mitigate the damage.

When you consider high cost fines and non-compliance, it’s clear that real-time data analytics technology is worth the investment. If you’re curious and want to learn more, check out this article for other ways to get more from your EHS data.