Big Data/Cloud Computing in Competition

Companies are generating and storing increasingly larger volumes of data each year. CRA’s Antitrust & Competition consultants are skilled at transferring, processing, and analyzing substantial volumes of data – commonly referred to as “big data” – and developing tailored client solutions. We manage datasets comprising hundreds of billions of records and multiple terabytes of information, including those exceeding 100 terabytes. CRA processes big data both on-premises and through cloud computing environments. No dataset is too large for CRA.

Our use of cloud tools for big data provides for faster analyses and results. Data transfers and analyses that previously took days or weeks can now be completed in just hours or minutes. This increased efficiency enables quicker compliance with Second Requests or Civil Investigative Demands, as well as expedited completion of advocacy work and expert report analyses. Faster data processing also allows for further analyses, such as robustness checks and alternative approaches.

All data transmitted between CRA and external sources, as well as data stored in our cloud environments, is encrypted using the latest and most secure cryptographic protocols. We provide HIPAA-compliant environments to ensure the highest standards of data protection.

We work in multiple cloud computing and cloud-based analytics environment leveraging platforms such as Amazon Redshift, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Databricks, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Snowflake. CRA consultants are well-versed in many programming languages required for big data processing and analysis, including Python, R, SAS, SQL, and Stata, as well as visualization tools such as ArcGIS, Interactive maps and charts (HTML/Python), and Tableau.