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Big data no longer confined to realm of technology

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Abhigna
New Update

BANGALORE, INDIA: A recent survey done by Gartner reveals that 42 per cent of IT leaders stated they had invested in big data technology, or were planning to do so within a year.

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Which means, organizations are now more focused on adopting big data initiatives on a serious note.

Keeping this in mind and to understand more on big data and its role in different verticals, Abhigna NG from CIOL had an interaction with Jeby Cherian, VP and managing partner, Global Business Services, IBM India & South Asia.

Highlighting on how IBM big data solutions can play an important role in present day, Cherian said: "Our world is being transformed by data. It's unprecedented, and it is the defining business event of our business lifetimes. As a consequence, every industry, institution and profession will be transformed by the available data.

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"Big data is no longer confined to the realm of technology. Today it is rising to the top of the business agenda, given that the analysis of big data can help solve long-standing business challenges and transform processes, enterprises, entire industries and even society itself."

Cherian also highlighted on the key pain-points faced by the banking sector while handling customer data, rapid explosion of big data in public sector banks and how IBM foresee analytics trends in the financial sector.

Excerpts from the interview:

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CIOL: How does your solution help banking sector to manage financial management processes as well as forecast, budget and manage liquidity?

Jeby Cherian: Our solution helps for the banking sector include solutions that helps convert data into insights that will enable better decision-making and risk management to maximize profits while enhancing customer loyalty.

For instance, the Central Bank of India is now one of the few public sector banks achieving complete automation of corporate performance management activity on a bottoms-up approach.

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As a result of IBM's solution for corporate performance management, the company is now able to gain better insight into branch and regional office performance, allowing for further flexibility and quicker shifts in strategy to drive improved results while also maintaining regulatory compliance.

With the use of analytics, the Central Bank of India has moved away from spreadsheet based planning to a smarter process that analyzes daily financial data based on actual performance and potential for growth. Equipped with specialized planning features, and simplified data capturing at the branch and regional office level, the IBM solution has helped the Bank to uncover new sources of customer value.

CIOL: As we witness rapid explosion of big data in public sector banks, very often, these banks struggle to analyze real-time data from multiple sources. How banks can address this growing challenge?

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JC: In the age of "big data," which is defined by a sea of structured and unstructured data sets, senior financial decision makers are now able to get answers to complex business questions that they didn't even think possible.

Advanced analytics is making this possible. This deluge of information makes it imperative for banks to think and act in fundamentally new ways. Banks need to be able to respond to unstructured data rapidly to provide time-limited and location based campaigns and offers and take corrective action on customer servicing issues.

It is important to note that this does not do away with the traditional business analytics efforts of banks. Harnessing unstructured data is a supplementary effort and in the medium term structured and unstructured data can be pooled together to arrive at more meaningful analysis.

Data has always sat in the center of a CFO's job responsibilities, and now Big Data insights are growing increasingly important. CFOs have long relied on historic data to determine how to allocate budgets. But today, CFOs must also provide insights and analysis to anticipate the future enable more strategic decision making. This transition should not be feared, think of it as an organic process.

Real time data leads to the creation of scenarios and simulations that provide insight on a predictive basis, and offer insight to better manage cash flow, comply with new regulations and address credit issues. By embracing Big Data, CFOs can move to drive proactive rather than reactive corporate strategies.

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