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Have you ever wondered why social media seems to know so much about you? Well, don’t be fooled into thinking that they’re an all-knowing and all-seeing magician that knows your deepest secrets and desires. It’s just all about data, machine data.

Now, you are wondering again, what’s machine data? How do they know what they know? Is it some kind of weird science that would eventually turn into your worst nightmare, where you lose all your friends and followers and put mustaches on all your selfies?

Well, as much as I want to say YES, but for the purpose of giving you relevant information, the answer is NO. Machine data, simply put, is the digital information generated by machines from various activities and interactions you make on mobile phones, computers, and other network devices. It is a record of all the information you put into different online systems that created a pattern of your choices, interest, and behavior.

Picture yourself going through your typical day. You get up in the morning; you check your mobile phone for the latest news in the world, entertainment, or stock market. As you are getting ready to leave for work, you make calls to the office to get ahead of the work that needs to be done. When you get to your car, you put in music and log in your destination. From your waking moment to the end of your day, all these activities, if done through the internet, turns into a considerable wealth of definitive and real-time information that’s recorded to the system of every application or network that you use.

On a bigger scale, machine data is not just about tracking and collecting individual people’s information. It is also a result of business and process logs, application logs, sensor data, call records, internet and website activity logs that big organizations use for different purposes.

Now, the question is, WHY? It is kind of creepy when you come to think of it. But, if you look at the big picture, machine data serves a significant role in monitoring and predicting outcomes that would affect not only you but the world.

Here are some examples:

Machines and technology run almost everything. With machine data, companies that own them can analyze these machines’ performance to monitor, maintain, and anticipate malfunction and then find ways to prevent and fix them before they break down.

Another use of machine data is for monitoring warning systems for natural disasters, based on feeds from sensors and forecasting systems that collect data from weather stations and satellites to help predict the weather and earth activities, like volcanic activities and earthquakes.

Machine data is also used to ensure gas and oil pipelines are working correctly and efficiently. One missed data point can cause great devastation and loss of property and lives.

Giant industries endlessly run, build, and improve the systems and technology they created. This continuous innovation requires strict and up-close monitoring to make sure that they are functioning well. Real-time monitoring is an essential tool when running systems as large as power plants, or as small as app errors on a consumer’s mobile phone app. These innovations’ success and efficiency hinges on the information that machine data supplies. Without machine data analytics, diagnosing issues is slow, delayed, and tedious, human error can contribute to more missteps, and unforeseen issues will not be anticipated, thus creating problems in the long run.

Of course, it’s not just all about saving the world. Machine data can be used to fatten the bottom line. To stay even competitive as a modern company, these businesses have to perform at breakneck speeds, and process information as quickly as possible.

In return, businesses and companies can make big bucks from machine data. What??? Oh yes! It’s not a shocking concept, though. These practices already existed way back, even before the rise of machines and technology. But NOW, with the help of machine data, these practices are more refined, accurate, and way more effective and bankable than before. Here’s how:

Businesses can gather detailed feedback on social media about their products and services. Machine data can give them the power to determine what people are saying about their brand, what they like, and what they don’t like. This information is compelling when it comes to customer satisfaction. They will be able to give them what they want and need. As they say, a happy customer is a paying customer.

Companies can get ahead of their competition through comparative analysis using machine data information. They will be able to compare services and products based on how consumers are engaging with their business and their competition’s business. With the information they get out of this, they can get ahead of the competition and offer better and more relevant products to their consumers.

Machine data also plays a vital role in product development. Businesses can collect data on the possible product and check the market demand. They would know whether the targeted customers would want this product or not, they would know who the competition might be, and they would also find out if the product will make money. This information is crucial to know before companies start investing any money. Machine data can help answer all that.

Many big corporations spend millions in marketing ads and campaigns but sometimes fail badly, leading to bankruptcy. This happens because these businesses do not know about their customers and what they want. But with machine data, companies can monitor their consumer base online and check the current customer trends before creating a marketing campaign. This will ensure a targeted marketing campaign that focuses on existing customers and future customers.