WHAT IS BIG DATA

Big Data

Big Data has become a replacement buzz word within the IT industry. Everyone is talking about it and repeatedly using it to impress others, albeit they themselves don't really know what it means. Out of context and more as a marketing gimmick it is often used. This article aims to elucidate what Big Data really is and the way it'll be useful in solving problems.

Physics and arithmetic calculations can give us the precise distance from the East Coast of the USA to the West Coast , accurate to about 1 yard. This is an outstanding achievement and has been applied to varied technologies in our lifestyle . But the challenge comes in once you have data which isn't static, which is consistently changing and changing at a rate and in volumes which are humongous to determine in real time. The only way we will process this data is by using computers.

In four dimensions: volume, variety, velocity and veracity IBM data scientists will break big data . But there are many more aspects of it. Big data are often described by the subsequent characteristics:

Volume is that the size of the info which determines the worth and potential of the info into account and whether it can actually be considered as Big Data or not. Variety means the category to which the info belongs to is additionally a really essential incontrovertible fact that must be known by the Big Data Analytics

This helps the people, who are closely analyzing the info and are related to it, to effectively use the info to their advantage and thus upholding the importance of the info . Velocity refers to how briskly the info is generated and processed to be useful. Variability of the data can also be a problem for the analysts. Veracity is that the quality of the info being captured. Accurate analysis depends on the veracity of the source data.

Analogies

Paul Lewis from Hitachi Data Systems presents a better, more visual analogy . He often explains about Big Data by showing an image cartoon crammed with many people that do various things within the picture, looking busy.

Importance and Benefits

One of the main reasons why we'd like Big Data is for prediction and analysis. One of the simplest examples where Big Data are often seen in action is that the Large Hadron Collider experiment, during which about 150 million sensor deliver data 40 million times per second. 

After filtering and refraining from recording quite 99.999% of those streams, there are 100 collisions of interest per second. Facebook is another important example , which handles over 50 billion user photos.

Healthcare is another area where Big Data can play a big role. One of the foremost amazing example is Google Flu Trends, which analyses search data from various locations and uses the info Analysis to spot patterns of Influenza epidemics and endemics around the world. Although this data isn't necessarily accurate or may have tons of false positives, it highlights the potential of what such data can show you.

A key advantage of Big Data is that there's no specific format during which it's stored. Crudely put, it's a raw dump of knowledge i.e. it is unstructured.Complex algorithms to classify and process this data used by system, which makes it very special.

Big Data And The Future...!!!

Big Data Technologies

No one would have ever imagined how life might be with electricity before its invention. But, after its invention, electricity transformed the lives. In fact the world changed completely thereafter. You must be wondering why I am talking about electricity when the title talks about Big Data Technologies.

It has become the electricity of the 21st century. It has gained such an influence that it can transform anything it touches, be it business or private life or the govt . The only difference between the power generation and it took a century for electricity to transform the world but Big Data is revolutionizing businesses in just a matter of a blink.

It is rapidly famous term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of both structured and unstructured data. And big data has now clothed to be as important to business - and society - because the Internet has become. But do you wonder why?

The amount of data in our world has been continuously expanding. It is now in a state of exploding, and analyzing large data sets termed as big data-will become a key basis of competition, creating new waves of productivity growth, innovation, and consumer surplus. 

Leaders in every sector will have to learn to juggle with the implications of it, not just a few data-oriented managers. The increasing volume and detail of data captured by companies today, the spread of social media, and therefore the Internet of Things will fuel exponential growth in data for the foreseeable future.

The Revolution is here to re-define the next era of the business and the Government. It is harnessing the power of data to change the course of finance, banking and other sectors to be smarter, more responsive and efficient. It can help Government to perform better and deliver the most essential services more effectively like - garbage removal and recycling, public safety, street maintenance etc. 

In Banks it can help to structure the data as banks receive innumerable unstructured data everyday which they did not give much importance to earlier. For eg. Banks receive a number of calls regarding their services and have uncountable useful data points. 

With the help of Big Data, those useful points can be critical in changing policies to reduce customer complaints etc. Now we have more hard facts to base our views rather than beliefs which were prevalent before.

The largest way in which technology is driving innovation is by shrinking the time it takes to answer key business questions. How do successful companies use data? Riva Richmond, editor, Economist Intelligence Unit, presented a global survey of 373 senior executives.

1. Set clear and specific business objectives

2. Test various hypotheses and ask better, new questions of data

3. Use data insights to set a plan

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Successful companies, denied as those that outperform their peers in profitability, have leaders who support the use of data and also have open, collaborative cultures. When it comes to decision making strong leaders depend more on data and facts than gut instincts.

The Takeaway:

• A top down vision on how to use data is key

• Investment in data capabilities is critical

• Culture matters: if a company isn't open, the data results can't be implemented

• Hire and cultivate employees who understand both data and business

• Ensure that data efforts and business strategy are aligned

The use of big data by companies to grow better, work faster, and expand into new markets is just the beginning. The widespread use of insights from data analysis is a societal tipping point. It is the progress in how we work, how we make money, how we live, how we tackle problems, and how we think. Technologies pushing huge data forward are ultimately pushing society way forward.

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