When big data can lead to big profit

He says that although the big data theme is similar regardless of geography, there are some areas or aspects where China is different.

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Managing big data in a complex economy

"One is the sheer scale of China in almost every market category, whether this be the number of Internet users, mobile minutes online, number of internet-capable devices, etc," he says.

"Most of the Chinese companies are not bound by legacy products or implementations because they are just beginning to explore this area and thus have more flexibility to implement futuristic systems."

But big data is an opportunity and challenge for Chinese customers, he says.

Internet companies will definitely be the first to adopt the technology, while others are still evaluating the various scenarios. Sundaresan says that several big data scenarios are developing in specific industries, such as the "Internet of Vehicles" in the auto industry, regional solutions in the healthcare industry, and online-to-offline in the retail industry.

He adds that, although the technology is evolving rapidly, the key constraint is the lack of adequately trained talent. Data scientists are a relatively new talent pool facing a severe shortage.

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, a popular smartphone manufacturer from China, is one of those concerned over privacy protection in the big data era. He wants Chinese policymakers to speed up legislation on information security.

Lei says China should put in place a sound mechanism to harness big data talent and funding for key research in the area. At the same time, it is also important for the various government arms to fully share their data so that social institutions can research it for better efficiency.

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