Big Data

Big Data. The term has been in the public eye lately with much concern on how to tackle this new way of keeping information secure.   There is no real definition of the term, so I’ll try to give my take on the subject.

Big data refers to the massive amounts of data collected over time. The terms data mining and big data both refer to the collection of data but they are completely different from one another.

Big Data vs. Data Mining

Big Data – A term used for a large data set.  These data sets outgrew the simple databases and data handling that were run on older computers.

Data Mining – Refers to the activity of going through big data sets to look for pertinent information. A good analogy is “looking for a needle in a haystack”.

What’s unique about Big Data? – For decades companies information collected to improve their business from a marketing stand- point.  Big data is unique not by the size of data but the representation of significant information which can open new doors and the way this information is analyzed to help open those doors.

Who Uses Big Data

• Credit card companies analyze consumer purchases.
• Museums, zoos, and other public attraction businesses are using big data analytics to determine what visitor’s purchase, the areas where they spend the most time, their favorite attractions, and when potentially high-spending visitors are in the area.
• Law enforcement and investigators are using big data analytics to track crime incidents, catch crooks, and increase public safety.
• New search engines are being created to use semantic technology to improve search results to bring business benefits.

The three V’s of Big Data

• Volume – Transaction-based data stored through the years. Many large companies have collected data (sensitive and non-sensitive) over the years.
• Velocity – Data is streaming at great speed and must be dealt with in a timely manner.  Reacting quickly enough to deal with data velocity is a challenge for most organizations.
• Variety – The different types of data being collected. Data today comes in all types of formats. Structured, numeric data in traditional databases information created from line-of-business applications, unstructured text documents, email, video, audio, stock ticker data and financial transactions.

Challenges

 Privacy – The use of someone’s private information for public usage can create a legal issue, causing companies to re-think big data and what collection schemes to use to prevent these situations.

Security – Security is another concern when using big data.  This is especially true in the medical industry due HIPPA laws with enforce patients’ rights to be protected.

I hope that you found this information helpful.  Please feel free to forward to others.  If you would like to learn more on this topic or would like to request another topic for the future please contact me.

Until next time…Happy Computing!!!