*Review* **Explore Big Data Analytics Applications and Opportunities: A Review**

**Zaher Ali Al-Sai 1,2,\*, Mohd Heikal Husin 2, Sharifah Mashita Syed-Mohamad 2, Rasha Moh'd Sadeq Abdin 2, Nour Damer 3, Laith Abualigah 2,4,5,6,7 and Amir H. Gandomi 8,9,\***


**Abstract:** Big data applications and analytics are vital in proposing ultimate strategic decisions. The existing literature emphasizes that big data applications and analytics can empower those who apply Big Data Analytics during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper reviews the existing literature specializing in big data applications pre and peri-COVID-19. A comparison between Pre and Peri of the pandemic for using Big Data applications is presented. The comparison is expanded to four highly recognized industry fields: Healthcare, Education, Transportation, and Banking. A discussion on the effectiveness of the four major types of data analytics across the mentioned industries is highlighted. Hence, this paper provides an illustrative description of the importance of big data applications in the era of COVID-19, as well as aligning the applications to their relevant big data analytics models. This review paper concludes that applying the ultimate big data applications and their associated data analytics models can harness the significant limitations faced by organizations during one of the most fateful pandemics worldwide. Future work will conduct a systematic literature review and a comparative analysis of the existing Big Data Systems and models. Moreover, future work will investigate the critical challenges of Big Data Analytics and applications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

**Keywords:** big data; big data analytics; big data applications; big data opportunities; COVID-19 pandemic; medical applications; healthcare; education
