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SCMP x HKUST - Expert Insight Series 2017: Professor Tam Kar Yan

There is common consensus that big data and its applications will have a massive impact on business and public policy decisions in the next five years.

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SCMP x HKUST - Expert Insight Series 2017: Professor Tam Kar Yan

There is common consensus that big data and its applications will have a massive impact on business and public policy decisions in the next five years.

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The field, though, is evolving at such a pace that any predictions about the type and extent of coming changes must be hedged with a sensible degree of caution. Experience has taught that innovation in the world of technology creates positive disruption, but also unforeseen negatives.

So, for all the excitement about what the use and analysis of big data can add to disciplines like marketing, financial management and strategic planning, the debate continues about what will really pay off in the long run - and what may not.

“There are many applications of big data these days,” says Professor Tam Kar-yan, dean of the School of Business and Management at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). “I would see retail and e-commerce as the primary industries to adopt it so far. But the government can also use it to help policy formulation, getting data from different bureaux to form a more comprehensive view of current situations and issues.”    

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He is quick to add that the financial services sector is also making strides. Banks and insurance companies have seen the potential big data offers for identifying more business opportunities. Besides that, they are finding other advantages when it comes to meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring necessary security.  

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