The Big Data Trends Colorado Companies Are Watching

by Alton Zenon III
November 6, 2019

The number of states that have enacted laws that address data security practices of private sector companies has almost doubled since 2016, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This means that in today’s tech scene, topics like “data” and “privacy”  often come up in the same breath. 

Companies that work with big data are faced with a myriad of challenges as they maneuver through this ever-evolving legislative playing field. We spoke with data experts from three Colorado tech companies about the impact security changes and the latest data trends have had on their businesses.

 

SpotX team members working in their office
spotx

With the introduction of new industry trends comes the need for skilled professionals well-versed in the latest technologies. Data Applications Engineer Olivia Ondeck at video advertising platform SpotX said companies are placing a greater emphasis on cybersecurity and data engineering skills as data privacy becomes top-of-mind across industries.

 

What are the top big data trends you’re watching that are significantly impacting the industry?

With the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe and big data breaches, data privacy concerns are extremely widespread and awareness is only going to increase. Companies have to be more careful now and therefore, the demand for cybersecurity skills is higher than ever. There is also a rising demand for data engineering skills, not just data science and data analysis. As data becomes more of a currency, physical space and hardware requirements are increasing and the need to manage and optimize is getting more important.

Our priorities are shifting to building and maintaining infrastructure that scales with our data growth.”

 

What under-the-radar big data trends are you watching that the industry isn’t talking about?

When it comes to managing data and applications that use big data, better containerization is becoming more important. Container orchestration systems for automating application deployment — like Kubernetes and OpenShift — are rising in popularity because of their ability to run large-scale applications more seamlessly. 

Another trend we are noticing is that it’s not just millennials cutting the cord with cable, but older generations as well. People are ditching expensive cable services for both live TV subscriptions and regular streaming services. With those services come more opportunities for targeted video advertising. 

 

How are these trends affecting the future of your company?

Given the volume of our company’s data and how much that volume is growing, our priorities are shifting to building and maintaining infrastructure that scales with our data growth. An example of this is our transition to using OpenShift for managing our growing number of applications. The importance of having a large and strong data engineering team is higher than ever before because we are using more cutting edge technology in keeping our data secure and space-optimized.

 

Fantatics team members laughing
Fanatics

Sports enthusiasts have deep connections to their favorite sports, teams and players. Fanatics, a sports merchandise distributor, knows this well. Senior Engineering Manager Sunlight Yang said the company is digging deeper into hybrid cloud systems to evolve their data management in hopes of getting fans even closer to the games they love.

 

What are the top big data trends you’re watching that are significantly impacting the industry?

Over the past few decades, the physical world has become blended with the digital world. Thanks to the emergence of IoT, our lives have become more connected than ever and this brings us a wealth of data that we have never seen before. However, the traditional way of computing has become insufficient when dealing with data of such magnitude. That’s where machine learning and AI come into play. They are changing how we look at the world and how we do business.

Hybrid cloud strategies have existed for years and we continue looking for advances in this space.”

 

What under-the-radar big data trends are you watching that the industry isn’t talking about?

When building a large system that would cross the boundaries between cloud and on-premise systems, efficiency and data security requirements will always be concerns. Hybrid cloud strategies have existed for years and we continue looking for advances in this space.

 

How are these trends affecting the future of your company?

Fanatics is a company for fans, whether they be casual sports lovers or avid esports enthusiasts. The more we know about the fans, the better we can serve them with the products they want. Being intimate with those big data trends has helped us build a robust platform that allows us to offer them top-notch products and services and connect with them in both the real and virtual world.

 

Adswerve team members making waffles
Adswerve

Jacob Shafer said there’s a shift happening in the way companies access and utilize user data. The director of technical services at Adswerve said privacy-based regulations and the evolving nature of tech are limiting the breadth of user information companies have access to, making it more challenging for companies to get their brands in front of users. Shafer said Adswerve is tapping into its own data to help agencies, marketers and analysts navigate the changing landscape.

 

What are the top big data trends you’re watching that are significantly impacting the industry?

Simply put, privacy. Technology, its users and legislation are all increasingly focused on a user’s right to control their data. In opposition, the industry has increased our reliance on free access to users’ data. This conflict is resulting in industry-wide disruption. Companies will no longer be able to make decisions based on broad sets of granular user data, but will instead need to rely on aggregated contextual data about its users.

Technological advancement continues at such a rapid pace that lawmakers have had a hard time keeping up.”

 

What under-the-radar big data trends are you watching that the industry isn’t talking about?

Two things come to mind. The first is analysis instead of machine learning. Many companies are excited about the opportunity to utilize greater computing power to discover new insights about their users. But these companies can typically garner a great number of powerful insights by analyzing the data they already have. 

There’s also a lack of informed legislation. Technological advancement continues at such a rapid pace that lawmakers have had a hard time keeping up. The legislation is often difficult or impossible to enforce and shows a misunderstanding of the technology itself.

 

How are these trends affecting the future of your company?

These changes in the industry require companies to craft a more advanced strategy to make sure their target audiences know about them. Adswerve is well-positioned to partner with its clients as they craft and implement a more advanced strategy. These industry trends — like privacy and new legislation — will continue to challenge us and marketers alike, but we’re excited for the opportunity to leverage our media and data insights to help our clients successfully navigate through it.

 

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