the Firm Strategy Structure and Rivalry

the Firm Strategy Structure and Rivalry Sialkot is known as the fare city of Pakistan. Out of numerous cabin and little scope ventures, sports industry is one of the most conspicuous in the city. There are all out 3559 games merchandise ventures in Pakistan out of which more than 98 percent are situated in the city of Sialkot and its suburbs.[1] Imported games brands like Adidas (Germany), Puma (Germany), Nike (USA) and Slazenger (UK) began getting their items made from the Sialkot sports industry. This global joint effort was a major accomplishment. In 1994, official soccer balls were required for FIFA football World Cup, USA 94. Sialkot athletic gear exporters were chosen for this supply.[2] In any case, the business is currently encountering loss of piece of the overall industry on account of absence of modernization that is most recent innovation use, poor data foundation, rivalry with China, India and Japan, low capital for industry development, absence of specialized instruction, advancement and worldwide gauges underway, visit power blackouts, poor administration aptitudes and absence of coordination among related ventures in the games group. Utilizing the Porters Diamond model for investigation, we can all the more likely comprehend the current circumstance of the games business (show 1). Watchmen Diamond model[3] helps in understanding the job of bunches in rivalry and empowers an administration to check how an industry can get serious on a worldwide level. Request Conditions: Sialkot sports industry had been creating significant income by sending out games wear and athletic gear to the universal market. In any case, there has been an ongoing defeat in the business. The universal market requests advancement in sports items, utilization of better advances and global norms underway. Firm Strategy Structure and Rivalry: There is a solid rivalry with China, India and Japan. Global brands like NIKE, Adidas and so forth are getting their items produced using these nations on account of modest work and crude materials there. China exceptionally is a major danger to the industry.[4] Factor Conditions: Little scope enterprises are controlled by a familys own investment funds. As investment funds are constrained, extension of modern units is beyond the realm of imagination and it could before long get depleted. Along these lines, capital is an obstacle in progression. Force blackouts are probably the most serious issue of Pakistan nowadays. It messes up the type of postponements underway. Representatives are not well furnished with the administration abilities. As a result of out of date innovation use, the business is falling behind the market. Foundation should be upgraded by current requests. Crude materials which are required incorporate manufactured elastic, elastic, calfskin (stone grained cowhide), wood, aluminum, nylon, gut and so forth. These are largely privately created. Related Supporting Industries: In spite of the nearness of large games bunch including privately based providers of crude materials, the participation among the private-open associations is by all accounts low. Contrasts in costs are made as a result of absence of coordination among the related ventures. People are not very much prepared about the innovation headway. Business person intensity is there yet development is slacking behind.[5] Investigation: Recapturing markets offer will require various changes. So as to investigate the significance of the games business and to judge whether there is actually any requirement for overhauling the games bunch, the SWOT examination is done which shows the qualities, shortcomings, openings and dangers looked by the games business of Pakistan (display 2). As indicated by it, the games business has supported up till now in view of the long history of fares which has empowered it to keep up dynamic and dependable linkages in universal markets. In spite of the fact that little in number, the work power has numerous aptitudes with respect to creation, for instance, in the assembling of cricket bats, tennis rackets, and footballs which is keeping the business working. In any case, sports ventures are little scope house businesses with feeble administration abilities of the representatives and an intense value rivalry in the market, making their endurance troublesome. In addition, nonappearance of global norms and certify testing research centers is additionally adding to the shortcomings. Absence of item development and broad force blackouts are additionally influencing it adversely. Moreover, workers are not all around prepared about the most recent advancements in the market and are along these lines hesitant in receiving them which is putting the business behind step by step. Keeping the representatives all around prepared about most recent advances will empower them to monitor the most recent patterns in the market. Likewise, in little scope businesses the financial specialists are poor and ignorant so the creation techniques and apparatus are obsolete. Also, there are acceptable open doors for the games business to thrive like low pace of increase on working capital credits, exceptionally low annual duty rates and better exchange get to EU and USA. A few dangers to the business include specialized and natural boundaries to exchange, authorizing and universal guidelines necessity by the global markets and makers of crude materials. Absence of training bringing about poor innovation progression has become a danger to the industry.[6] China/East Asia creation is likewise presenting genuine danger to the business. Proposals: So as to improve the fare states of the games business, the accompanying Five Year Plan should be executed. Five Year Plan: The Five Year Plan would concentrate on: Tending to boundaries (poor data framework, absence of specialized ability, less capital, power blackouts, ignorance, poor administration aptitudes, absence of modernization) Sports items advancement and decent variety Instructing business visionaries about trend setting innovation Work aptitudes upgrade to acquire development and decent variety items All-encompassing Strategy: To upgrade and fortify the current games group and move it towards upper hand To bring changes which would empower the games business to conquer the piece of the pie misfortunes Year 1 A Cluster Monitoring Cell containing committed offices would be set up by the administration which would screen the exercises of the games business bunch and would attempt to carry changes to the business. Existing workers would be taught about the most recent innovation patterns pervasive in the market. Specialized focuses would be arrangement under governments instructive projects, propelled and subsidized by the Education Department to give satisfactory preparing to the representatives. Workshops for advising with respect to venture and different issues would be given to the new comers in the business. This would be dealt with by the Training Department. Exploration Department would call attention to businesses in the bunch which fairly require reserves. Subsidizing Department would then team up with the legislature to give advances and simple portion offices to the proprietors so as to lessen the danger of leaving business. The data foundation should be improved by the Information Resource Bureau for legitimate progression of data over the numerous businesses in the games group. Government mediation plans would be made and actualized so as to diminish dangers. The Research Department would indentify when mediation is required. Human Resource Department would set standards for recruiting workers. Government would dispatch grant and trade programs under the Education Department of Cluster Monitoring Cell so as to conquer the hesitance of workers in getting taught. Year 2-3 In continuation to Year 1 Plan: So as to oblige the necessities of a wide scope of business sectors, decent variety underway would be presented. Capable associations like Cluster Monitoring Cell and Government would concentrate on limit assembling with the goal that better bit of leeway could be accepted of open doors accessible to the business. Issues with respect to World Trade Organization would be defeated through legitimate courses, trainings and workshops which would be directed at any rate four times each year at various areas. Exacting laws would be executed, infringement of which would bring about punishments. Fare administrations gave by the legislature would be reinforced. Sunlight based, wind and hydel power creating units would be introduced at the business by the legislature to manage power blackout issue. Year 4-5 In continuation to Year 2-3 Plan: An exhaustive national level system plan will be made which would include all the partners. Concentrate would be on manageable advancement of the business. For that, dependence on endowments and money related help will be debilitated. Government would mediate to restrict the consistently expanding number of enterprises by permitting just those businesses to trade that have a specific limit with respect to capital speculation. End: Sports industry is one of the most income creating ventures of Pakistan. There is a pressing need to receive the above proposals before it is past the point of no return. These would help in overcoming any barrier between the different related businesses in the games bunch. Specialized ability, data about WTO issues and most recent advances should be implanted in the psyches of the business visionaries with the goal that they could help in better running of the business. Government needs to mediate in the business matters at the perfect time so as to control the circumstance before enterprises are met with pieces of the pie misfortunes. Book index: Ghani, Dr. Jawaid A. SIALKOTS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT, No.96-10 (September, 1996). Karim, Yasir,Sports Industry in Pakistan Watchman, Michael E., Chapter 7, Clusters and Competition: New Agendas for Companies, Governments and Institutions in On Competition, (Boston:Harvard Business School Press,1998). Web Resources: First light Media Group (29th August, 2009) Pakistan set to recover football showcase, accessible at http://www.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay

Starbucks has been the best espresso chain utilizing their forceful extension methodologies to outperform its rivals. Through its extension, Starbucks has concentrated on making a thick system of stores surrounding US, while likewise opening up new areas all around the globe. Be that as it may, Starbucks’ forceful development methodologies have presented significant dangers to its money related wellbeing, for example, close sources of income, increment obligations, poor liquidity proportions and so on. What's more, this methodology can intensify rivalry among close Starbucks stores. Because of the forceful development, Starbucks has lost its inner concentration in its center business espresso and its exceptional â€Å"Starbucks Experience †third place†. The issues are the means by which Starbucks can remain gainful later on and simultaneously continue its prevailing situation in the gourmet espresso industry. We have inspected the business examination that centers around the business inclines, the firm serious condition and followed by a SWOT investigation on Starbucks. At long last, we take a gander at the organization system investigation that centers around the Starbucks’ key expectation and its key position. From these investigations, we suggest a couple of choices where Starbucks should seek after pushing ahead so as to maintain a strategic distance from further decay and continue its prevailing position. .:Organization Background and History:. Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice was set up in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zey Siegel and Gordon Bowker in Seattle to sell broiled espresso beans and espresso machines. (See Exhibit 1 for course of events) around then, the founders’ reasoning was to give top notch espresso and instruct the open the craft of acknowledging fine espresso. It was the founders’ enthusiasm and solid responsibility on instructing the open that pulled in Howard Schultz to join Starbucks in 1982 as the leader of the advertising division, supervising the company’s retail locations. On one of his work excursions to Milan, Italy, Schultz unearthed a chance to patch up Starbucks and move its concentration from its unique business exercises. Schultz’s new business suggestion for Starbucks was to serve newly fermented espresso at their outlets which he offered to the originators without progress. After numerous fruitless endeavors, he left the Company. In 1987, Schultz procured Starbucks from the organizers and changed its name to the more curtailed ‘Starbucks’ and altered her logo to what we see today. After the procurement, he presented the possibility of ‘The Starbucks experience’ to all Starbucks’ outlets; that is to make an agreeable climate for benefactors to unwind. From that point on, each Starbucks outlet was the ideal copy of this idea. In 1992, Starbucks had propelled an IPO and its basic stock was being exchanged on the Nasdaq. In 1995, Starbucks adventure abroad and framed a joint endeavor with SAZABY Inc to open Starbucks stores in Japan. In 1996, Starbucks first oversea outlet was opened in Tokyo. Today, Starbucks has a sum of 7,087 Company worked stores and 4,081 License stores in US. Also, it has 1,796 Company worked stores and 2,792 Joint Venture and License store working in other 43 nations. .:Meaning of the Industry, Competitors and Scope of Analysis: Generally, Starbucks is in the Food and Beverages industry. Anyway with the end goal of this paper, we would characterize Starbucks to be in the gourmet espresso industry with the accompanying contenders : †¢Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; †¢Costa Coffee; †¢Caribou Coffee (See Exhibit 2 for a brief review on explanations behind the decision of these contenders and some foundation data of them) For the motivation behind this paper, our investigation will concentrate on Starbucks in US and Australia. The following segment gives an outline of the gourmet espresso industry and the serious condition in US and Australia. .:Diagram of the Industry:. .:Political Forces:. For the most part both the US and the Australia political circumstance gave off an impression of being settled and stable. This will give a decent stage to both current organizations and new organizations to work in. In US, regardless of the present skirt of downturn, the political state of mind is still prone to support expanded guideline of organizations. Furthermore, despite the fact that universal pressures are probably going to remain however their effect on political steadiness and economy will stay negligible. Correspondingly in Australia, the political atmosphere is probably going to remain moderately steady. In spite of the fact that the connection between the central government and the states had been rough before; it has improved after the presentation of a progressively steady recipe for income conveyance. .:Practical Forces:. US: Real financial development is relied upon to slow from an expected 4% in 2008 to 3. 8% in 2009. The unassuming stoppage mirrors the effect of lower request from its exchanging accomplice. As these exists lopsided characteristics in the economy and the poor momentary standpoint for development, it is accepted that conditions in the US are currently recessionary and that development will stay extremely feeble in 2009. This will thus influence the GDP and the discretionary cashflow of its occupants. Australia: Traditionally, quick development in Australia has been log jam as of late because of downturn. Improved money related and monetary administration have diminished macroeconomic unpredictability, however dangers and irregular characteristics are available. The low local investment funds rate renders the financial framework dependant on outside financing. The present record deficiency is huge, and universal money related markets may begin to stress over the fundamental causes. Air pocket conditions likewise appear to exist in the lodging market. .:Socio-social Forces: Consumers’ Perceptions and Disposable Income:. US: There had been an expansion in espresso utilization in the US showcase however the rate had eased back down in 2005 presenting dangers to espresso retailers. As of late, US customers had progressively decide on more beneficial hot beverages, for example, tea and RTD refreshments which influence espresso utilization rate. The pattern is probably going to keep, prompting decrease in espresso utilization. Australia: Coffee deals had encountered very tepid development from 2000 to 2005. The way of life of bistro had made more individuals select on-exchange deals espresso at the bistro rather than home-prepared espresso. As indicated by BIS Shrapnel, individuals progressively will in general go to bistros for their espresso and there is an expansion of half inside 2 years in espresso utilization. .:Innovative Forces: Technological Developments:. Mechanical changes have made numerous new items and procedures. It assists with decreasing expenses, improve quality and lead to developments which thusly benefits shoppers just as associations. Numerous associations in the gourmet espresso industry had perceived the significance of giving remote web access and Wi-Fi hotspots to its supporters. These innovation progresses had made a recreation place for benefactors to ride net or hang out after home and work. The vast majority of the associations had additionally acquainted mechanized espresso machines with accelerate the preparing procedure in order to abbreviate holding up time. To additionally improve business tasks and proficiency, a few associations have likewise utilize data innovation frameworks to assist them with maintaining their organizations all the more easily. .:Natural Forces:. With significant atmosphere changes happening because of a worldwide temperature alteration, numerous associations in the gourmet espresso industry had expanded their condition mindfulness by decreased the utilization of expendable cups to serve espresso and expanded the utilization of fired cups. Besides, the associations had additionally decreased the size of their paper napkins, paper sacks and in store trash packs. The associations were additionally urged to buy Fairtrade confirmed espressos as to advance mindful natural and monetary endeavors. The accompanying area presents our investigation of gourmet espresso industry with the guide of Michael Porters 5 Forces model. .: Analysis of Gourmet Coffee Industry-Porter 5 Forces:. If you don't mind allude to display 3 for the measures utilized for the scoring of every power and an investigation of every power. Power #1: Threat of New Entry:. †¢Threat of new passage is high. †¢High fire up cost engaged with buying supplies, sourcing for espresso beans and preparing barista. †¢Strong brand character prompting high exchanging cost for customers Score: 10 Force #2: Threat of Substitutes:. †¢Substitutes are gourmet espresso of an alternate brand †¢Current gourmet espresso ventures is immersed †¢High exchanging cost. †¢Threat of substitutes viewed as generally high Score: 6 Force #3: Bargaining Power of Suppliers:. †¢Majority of financially accessible espresso beans originate from a couple industrializes nations. †¢Increase the expense of cafés in sourcing and accessing these excellent espresso beans. †¢Bargaining intensity of providers is moderately high Score: 5 Force #4: Bargaining Power of Consumers†¢Bargaining intensity of clients is generally impartial. †¢Current player picked up brand devotion †¢Product separation assists with holding current client and draw in new clients. †¢However value delicate clients may look for less expensive other option. Score: 0 Force #5: Rivalry between Competitors:. †¢Intensity of contention is moderate. †¢Brand character and high exchanging cost is moderately negative to new player that has quite recently entered the market. Score: 3 Conclusion:From the above investigation, we noticed that the danger of new passage, the bartering intensity of the provider and danger of substitutes are generally high. Then again the haggling intensity of the purchasers is impartial and the power of competition is moderate. Subsequently from the abovementioned.

Brief History of Big Data

Brief History of Big Data © Shutterstock | McIekThis article ventures into the world of big data, the history of big data all the way from its early stages in the 20th Century to big data as we know it now. The article also discusses some of the most prominent applications of big data in the world we live in.WHAT IS BIG DATA?In the business landscape of today, data management can be a major determinant of whether you succeed or fail. Most businesses have begun to realize the importance of incorporating strategies that can transform them through the application of big data. In this endeavor, businesses are realizing that big data is not simply a single technology or technique. Rather, big data is a trend that stretches across numerous fields in business and technology.Big Data is the term used to refer to initiatives and technologies that comprise of data that is too diverse, fast evolving, and vast for ordinary technologies, infra- structure, and skills to address exhaustively. That is; the volume, velocity and variety of the data is far too great. Despite the complexity of this data, advances in technology are allowing businesses to draw value from big data.For example, in your businesses can be positioned to track consumer web clicks in order to identify consumers’ behavioral trends and modify the business’s campaigns, advertisements, and pricing to fit the consumers’ persona.An additional example would be where energy service providers assess household consumption levels in order to predict impending outages and promote more efficient energy consumption.Additionally, health provision bodies may be able to monitor the spread as well as the emergence of illnesses by analyzing social media data. There are numerous applications of big data, the most noteworthy of which will be discussed a little later in the article. Big Data involves the creation of large amounts of complex data, its storage, its retrieval, and finally its analysis.The following are the three Vs of big data.Volum e. Two decades ago, typical computers may have had about ten gigabytes of memory. Today, however, social media platforms such as Facebook will take in over half a billion terabytes of data on a daily basis. Similarly, Boeing airplanes generate hundreds of terabytes in flight data in a single flight. The wide spread use of smartphones and tablets results in the generation of billions of terabytes of consistently updated data feeds that are of infinitely diverse genres.Velocity. Clickstreams capture user behavior at millions of events each second. For example, stock trading market changes are reflected within microseconds. Computer processes exchange data between billions of gadgets, infrastructure, and sensors in order to generate accurate and applicable data in real-time. For example, on-line gaming systems support millions of users operating concurrently and with each producing multiple inputs every second.Variety. Big data does not just refer to numbers and dates, big data is all that inclusive of audio, video, unstructured text, social media information, and so much more. Database systems of about two decades ago had been designed to address a smaller volume of structured data, slower, and fewer updates. They were designed to process structured and predictable forms of data. These traditional databases were also designed to operate on single servers, which would make an increase in capacity an expensive endeavor. Programs and applications have evolved to serve large volumes of users and the use of the olden databases has become a liability for most businesses as opposed to an asset. Big Data databases, for example MongoDB, solve these issues and avail businesses great value.HISTORY OF BIG DATAThe term Big Data was coined by Roger Mougalas back in 2005. However, the application of big data and the quest to understand the available data is something that has been in existence for a long time. As a matter of fact, some of the earliest records of the applicatio n of data to analyze and control business activities date as far back as7,000 years.This was with the introduction of accounting in Mesopotamia for the recording of crop growth and herding. The principles continued to grow and improve and John Graunt in 1663 recorded and analyzed information on the rate of mortality in London. John Graunt did this in an effort to raise awareness on the effects of the bubonic plague that was ongoing at the time.In his book ‘Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality’, John Graunt provided the world with the first statistical analysis of data ever recorded. The book was an insight into the causes of death in seventeenth century England. Due to his work, John Graunt is widely regarded as the pioneer of the field of statistics.After the works of Graunt, accounting principles continued to improve and develop but nothing extra ordinary quite took place until recently in the 20th Century when the information era began. The star ting point of modern data begins in 1889 when a computing system was invented by Herman Hollerith in an attempt to organize census data.After Herman Hollerith’s input, the next noteworthy data development leap happened in 1937 under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential administration in the United States. After the United States congress passed the Social Security Act, the government was required to keep track of millions of Americans. The government contracted IBM to develop a punch card-reading system that would be applied in this extensive data project.However, the very first data-processing machine was named ‘Colossus’ and was developed by the British in order to decipher Nazi codes in World War II, 1943. This machine worked by searching for any patterns that would appear regularly in the intercepted messages. The machine worked at a record rate of five thousand characters per second, which reduced work that would take weeks to just a few hours.From this development, the National Security Agency (NSA) was created in the United States in 1952. Employees of the NSA were tasked with decrypting the obtained messages during the course of the Cold War. Machine development at this stage had advanced to a level where machines could independently and automatically collect and process information.The first data centre was built by the United States government in 1965 for the purpose of storing millions of tax returns and fingerprint sets. This was achieved by transferring every record onto magnetic tapes that were to be stored systematically in a central location. This project, however, did not persist due to fear of sabotage or acquisition. However, it is a widely accepted that this initiative was the starting point of electronic big storage.Tim Berners-Lee a British computer scientist invented the World Wide Web in 1989. Berners-Lee’s intention was to enable the sharing of information through a hypertext system. He had no idea what kind of impact his inv ention would have on the world. As we entered the 1990’s, the creation of data grew at an extremely high rate as more devices gained capacity to access the internet.The first super-computer was built in 1995. This computer had the capacity to handle work that would take a single person thousands of years in a matter of seconds.And so came the 21st Century This is when the world was first introduced to the term Big Data by Roger Mougalas. In the same year (2005), Yahoo created the now open-source Hadoop with the intention of indexing the entire World Wide Web. Today, Hadoop is used by millions of businesses to go through colossal amounts of data.During this period, social networks were rapidly increasing and large amounts of data were being created on a daily basis. Businesses and governments alike began to establish big data projects. For example, in 2009 in the largest biometric database ever created, the Indian government stored fingerprint and iris scans of all of its citizens. Eric Schmidt gave a speech at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, California in 2010. In his speech he presented that there were 5 exabytes of data stored since the beginning of time up to the year 2003. Eric Schmidt possibly could not imagine that by the year 2016, the same amount of data would normally be created every two days. The rate at which big data is growing does not seem to be slowing down either. Over the past number of years, there have been various organizations that have come up in an attempt to deal with big data, for example, HCL. These organizations’ business is aiding other businesses to understand big data. Everyday more and more businesses are moving towards the acceptance and exploitation ofbig data.Although it seems like big data has been around for a long time now and that we are getting closer to the pinnacle, big data may just be at its formidable stages. Big data in the near future may end up making big data now seem like a poultry amount.What does t he Future HoldThere you go; that was a brief history of Big Data. Looking into history can give us a minor insight into the future. Two decades ago, businesses that possessed information were the most successful whilst today, the most successful businesses are the ones that interpret and use the information in the best way.It may be fair to assume that in the future, the success of businesses will not only lie in those who analyze and implement big data the best, but also those who use big data to their greatest advantage and make strategic decisions for the future.Learn why most big data projects will fail.[slideshare id=55470639doc=5signsyourbigdataprojectisdoomedtofail11-151124163153-lva1-app6891w=640h=330]APPLICATION OF BIG DATA IN THE WORLD TODAYIndustry influencers agree that big data has become a game changer in just about all modern industries in the last couple of years. As big data continues to influence our daily lives, there has been a shift of interest in the subject. T he focus has changed from simply trying to grasp the concept of this phenomenon to finding tangible value in its application.For most of us, I am sure the term Big Data inspires the image of rows of humming servers and a sequence of flickering lights. Big data, however, persists beyond the storage of information. There are several areas in which big data is being applied; the following section presents you with the most prominent areas in which big data applies today.In Understanding and Targeting ConsumersThis is among the most popular and publicized areas in which big data is being used. In business, big data helps your business to analyze data and better understand the consumers’ behaviors and interests. Your business ought to expand beyond its traditional data sets. By incorporating the use of data obtained from social media, browser logs, and sensor data, you will be able to get a clearer picture of what your consumers need. Once you understand this, your business will be bet ter positioned to create predictive models and position itself to meet consumer needs.Big data can, therefore, apply in analyzing and understanding your audience’s interests. For example, some people are even of the opinion that President Obama’s second election win was due to his team’s superior ability to use big data analytics to understand the audience’s interests and appeal to them. In theory, this is plausible, and big data can be used to predict and influence even events as big and important as government elections. How much more so for your business?Self OptimizationBig data does not only apply to your business, but can also apply to you as an individual. You can now benefit from data generated by devices such as smart watches. These devices have the capacity, for example, to monitor the amount of calories you intake in a day, your activity level, as well as your sleep patterns. While the real-time information may be exciting to observe, for example, your calorie int ake at the end of the day, the real value lies in analyzing your collective data.With the analysis of data collected from you over a certain period of time, you will be able to make adjustments in your personal life in order to be more productive, to eat healthy, to acquire sufficient amounts of sleep, and so forth.Improvement of HealthcareThis is another area where big data has played and continues to play a major role. For example, computing big data enables health providers to analyze and decode DNA issues in a matter of minutes. Big data will also allow us to discover diseases faster than would be possible without it. On top of this, big data allows healthcare providers to predict the patterns of diseases and, therefore, measures can be set up to prevent further spread of the diseases.Apple launched a health app known as ResearchKit. Through such an application, researchers can collect data from individual phones to be compiled for various health studies. For example, as a patie nt your device may prompt you to indicate how you feel about treatment services.This data along with that gathered from thousands, if not millions, of other participants will reveal information that compels medical practitioners step up the quality of their services. Data gathered from this application and similar ones, can be used to gather information on specific diseases. For example, information on patients of terminal illnesses can be compiled to be used in the furtherance of research.In addition, big data is already in use in the monitoring of babies who are premature or sick. Through the recording of each heartbeat as well as the breathing pattern of the babies brought to the unit, infections are detectable way before the onset of physical symptoms. This way, treatment is administered early because every hour counts with such fragile babies. This prompt administration of treatment, therefore, increases the babies’ chances of survival.Security and Law Enforcement Improvement Another sector where big data is heavily applied is in the enhancement and enablement of law enforcement. Governmental institutions, for example, the NSA in the United States use big data to detect and deter potential terrorist activities. In business, on the other hand, big data analytics can be used for the prevention of cyber attacks and unauthorized access. For the police department, big data tools enable the officers to predict and deter criminal activities.In 2014, the Chicago Police Department in Illinois, United States, sent out officers to pay a visit to persons that had been identified as most likely to commit crimes. This group of people was generated by a computer through the analysis of big data. The officers visited the individuals on their list, not to interrogate or detain them but to offer them information about jobs and training programs.The officers also educated these individuals on the consequences of certain crimes and their dynamics. As much as the intentions of the police department were sincere, the exercise was quickly shut down when the public opined that the exercise was ‘profiling’. I recognize the importance of security but I have to agree with that opinion.IN CONCLUSIONAlthough the era of big data has only recently begun, businesses and governments alike are already taking advantage of it. However, big data can be misused, for example, the Chicago Police Departments initiative in following up on people who were identified as potential criminals through big data analysis may have been done with the best of intentions.Nonetheless, the initiative can still be considered profiling and a tool through which people can be stigmatized for who they are or their past mistakes.   However, big data may very well be a double edged sword because through monitoring of social media activity and analyzing people’s likes and interests in big data, terrorist attacks can be averted. Yet this is also an invasion of privacy. Despite this downsid e, the benefits of big data carry much more weight and its applications in business, health, governance, and beyond should be encouraged.Big data has been slowly developing over the last few centuries and in the course of the past decade, big data has quickly evolved to become what we know it to be today. One vital point to note is that big data is not only about accumulating and storing massive amounts of information but, more importantly, utilizing that information to solve issues in business as well as in our society.Big data seems to evolve simultaneously with advancement in technology. Therefore, as we advance in technology, big data will continue to grow as a field and in volume, possibly to levels we cannot even fathom right now.