Big data can provide early warnings about huge weather patterns

Big data has been touted for its ability to help companies break out of reactive decision-making patterns and progress to proactive insight. This can help businesses pull ahead of competitors, as having the right information at the right moment means they can get products to the shelves ahead of huge demand.

As such, there is a significant push for organizations to invest in big data strategies, bring on experts to analyze collected information, verify the data quality and begin deriving smarter insight from it, BusinessWeek reports.

However, the benefits of big data are by no means limited to enterprises and their profit margins. The advantages are also expected to improve peoples' lives through the ability to anticipate significant weather patterns - for instance, the recent hurricane that battered the East Coast - and send out early alerts, according to Rick Smolan's book, The Human Face of Big Data, as discussed by GigaOm.

Severe weather tracking sensors that monitor patterns and temperature changes can be used in tandem with notification systems, such as mobile applications, to warn people when inclement conditions are about to hit, the source adds. This can help people in the path of major storm systems like Hurricane Sandy make informed decisions about their safety.