Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly realizing the need to adopt Big Data initiatives to derive meaningful insights from diverse data sources, according to Manish Mittal, Managing Principal and Head of Global Delivery, Axtria.

Companies are gearing up  to move on to Big Data framework via  cloud.  Whether marketing, R&D or manufacture, the ability to drive decisions faster than the competition is key. This is where big data technology is the key handle both scale and provide the flexibility. The primary value from big data comes from its processing and analysis. It helps understand patient experience, adherence and effectiveness. Therefore it is high time organizations switch to agile solutions that streamline and accelerate the data management and deployment without any constraints, he added.

The shift in pharma from volume to value-based care can be attributed to rising costs and aging demographics. Patient management is not merely filling a form. It now includes reimbursement assistance, adherence & disease management programs, patient lifestyle management, physician education & support, and patient education & support. This has added volume to the already existing data in this domain, Mittal told Pharmabiz.

In pharma trade, Big Data Analytics supports end-to-end sales planning and operations. It helps in maximize revenues by making the right decisions across areas including territory alignment, call planning and incentive compensation

In marketing, it helps in cost optimization, promotion effectiveness, market analysis, forecasting, campaign management, digital marketing, ROI measurement, advanced reporting and visualization. Besides this, it facilitates improved decision making across planning, budgeting and cross channel campaign designing.

The pharma landscape is changing. Volume is replaced by value. Physician influence is diminishing and other caregivers and institutions are becoming important. The pace of change is accelerating and companies need every advantage they can to maintain leadership and survive in this competitive environment, he said.

The pharma industry is still struggling to manage and derive meaningful insights. Some of these challenges include: understanding and integrating new data sources, like medical, diagnostic, and Electronic Medical Records .The data is voluminous and unstructured. Big Data Analytics monitors data in real-time. It facilitates identification of substantial information, which has the potential to enhance the quality of decision making. It mitigates risks to optimize complex decisions of unforeseen scenarios and situations.

It is difficult to find professionals who can match the skills required to excel in Big Data. To have a degree in engineering or maths is not enough. As per the report published by Worldwide Semiannual Big Data and Analytics Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics will grow to over $187 billion in 2019 from $122 billion in 2015 which is a 50 percent increase. The US market for big data and business analytics solutions will exceed $98 billion, he noted.

The market will need 181,000 people with deep analytical skills to meet the growing demand in the US alone. This requirement is five times more than the number of positions with data management and interpretation capabilities available at present. Quoting the MIT Sloan Management survey which states 40% respondents admitted to facing difficulties while hiring analytical talent, Manish said, “We therefore, take responsibility to train in new trends and analysis methodologies to upgrade the skills of our employees. Axtria Institute was established to develop professionals by offering them real time and hands-on exposure on live projects.”