Recognising the need to exploit their full potential to boost the competitiveness of EU industry, Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska announced today the results of a report on big data prepared by the Strategic Policy Forum on Digital Entrepreneurship during the 'Digitising European Industry' conference, organised by the European Commission at the Hannover Messe.

From emails and videos to in-store transactions, traffic movements and meteorological observations, every day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created by everything from smartphones to satellites. A myriad of digital sensors in industrial equipment, vehicles and production systems worldwide are contributing to an explosion of data. Each year, the amount of data being captured increases by a staggering 40%.

Big data presents enterprises with significant new opportunities. Big data analytics can improve business performance by allowing enterprises to develop new business models, improve products and services, and bring about considerable economic and social benefits.

The report, 'Big data and B2B digital platforms: The next frontier for Europe's industry and enterprises' looks into the potential to create new value in three important industries: automotive, healthcare/pharma and mechanical engineering. It sets out the key challenges of digital transformation in each of these industries, assesses key success factors, and provides recommendations on how to overcome remaining problems and speed up the modernisation process. The report draws on success stories and business case studies as well as interviews with key industrial players.