By 2025, the big data and analytics sector in India is projected to become USD16 billion industry, says NASSCOM.

Standing at a current level of USD2 billion industry, today, India stands as one of the top ten big data analytics markets across the globe. It is expected to grow at a CAGR rate of 26% within the next five years, according to K.S. Viswanathan, Vice President, NASSCOM.

As Chris Lynch said,

“Big data is at the foundation of all of the megatrends that are happening today, from social to mobile to the cloud to gaming.”

Isn’t this true? Currently, we’re already generating above 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily.

As advanced technologies, such as IoT (Internet of Things) emerges these numbers will only rise and not cease.

IoT, a system of interconnected or interrelated computing devices. This can either be mechanical or digital machines, people, or objects that are given unique objectifies and can transfer data over a network without the need for the human to human or human to computer interaction.

Big data is still the next big thing in the IT world. Especially with the emergence of IoT, the big data world is bound to transform the way businesses function today. During the past decade, India has widely embraced digitization in every aspect of the business.

Current state – India

Based on NASSCOM’s analysis, approximately 90,000 people are working in various big data analytics roles in India. And in the coming years, this number will only increase and five years down the line India would be in dire need for big data professionals.

Currently, there are near about USD 700 million worth of start-up funding that took place within the past two and a half years.

India is poised to be an emerging hub for big data and analytics solutions worldwide.

A career in big data isn’t bleak but bright. Let us have a glance at few pointers: –

• Increased adoption of big data by organizations

As estimated by Peer’s research “big data analytics” survey, it is seen that big data and analytics will be the topmost priority by the participating organizations stating it has improved their performance. Currently, almost all the companies are looking forward to adopting big data.

• In-demand skills in big data analytics 

We all know that the data we’re generating daily is humongous. While the use of data is becoming increasingly important day by day, the need for professionals in big data is limited. To process this data, there is an urgency of big data skills.                                                                                                                                     

• Flexi career options

Job opportunities in the big data field are huge. In fact, individuals with big data skills can choose from a wide range of options such as – big data engineer, big data solution architect, big data analytics architect, business intelligence and analytics consultant, and big data business consultant.

Tech giants like Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and IBM are some of the organizations that have adopted big data analytics.

• Salary prospects

In India, an entry-level fresher with big data skills could easily earn up to INR10 lakhs per annum. This could grow up to INR10-20 lakhs per annum based on the level of experience and skills. For professionals with 15+ years could easily earn around INR15-30 lakhs per annum.

Having said that individuals looking to get into the big data world are finding big data certifications to get an edge in their career.

Sectors such as banking, fraud detection, healthcare, risk management, energy, e-commerce, and telecommunications are names of sectors where big data analytics is already making its presence known. Besides these industries, there are other industries expected to join the big data race.