We are always hearing about Big Data, but what does it really mean ? If you are interested in hearing more about Big Data, I will try to answer any questions you may have ! Let me show you how data drives business !
What is Big Data?
Big data is the term for a huge volume of data, of any kind, it has an almost infinite variety of sources from social media, business transactions, marketing or machine data. However, it can be said that the analysis of this Big Data is even more important, as it is now being used as the basis for decisions and companies strategy.
It is called Big Data simply because of how much of it there is, any analytics team looking at big data would be finding data in all types of formats, be that numeric, video or text. It comes in huge streams but can also be inconsistent with peak times during seasons or events, and since it comes from so many sources in varying formats, and in an inconsistent manner it can be incredibly difficult to process Big Data.
What are the main Big Data tools?
Fortunately, a plethora of tools and technologies are available to process Big Data. Hadoop is rather popular when it comes to this as it is used to store an enormous volume of data in the cloud, which can then be scaled up or down, as well as offering impressive processing power and multitasking capabilities. It is open-source so anyone wishing to use it must be proficient in java.
Another tool, OpenRefine is used for data cleaning, this helps remove any errors or inconsistencies and give structure to data. RapidMiner is a tool for data mining, this involves making insights or patterns based on the compiled data, again, this is open-source and allows extensive customisation.
Data Analysis, which is somewhat similar to data mining is about assessing the impact of these patterns over time, and creating more definite predictions, one popular program for this is Qubole.
How can Big Data transform business?
Data will become infinitely more valuable to businesses and even small companies can collect data from their websites or social media. As a result, all companies now need a Big Data strategy for how to collect and use their data (learn more). Some more savvy businesses may even offer Big Data services to smaller companies who can’t do it themselves.
Companies are now more aware of their customers’ desires, what they’ll use and what channels they’ll use to buy. Since companies can gather data on individuals they now have to put time into protecting the consumer’s privacy.
There is also huge potential to improve internal efficiency by improving delivery routes, monitoring employee performance and finding talented recruits even machine performance. Customer satisfaction can be taken to another level, sensors can be used to see how customers use their products and can predict a fault or breakdown and then even recommend a better method to use a product.
Zoom on the Big Data Conference of Toronto
The Toronto Big Data conference (http://www.bigdata-toronto.com/event.html) is inviting any potential innovators and practitioners to discover the future of Big Data and its huge potential. A group of incredibly successful Keynote speakers will inspire attendees to begin to innovate using Big Data.
They also offer to educate people on the principles of Big Data, algorithms, and necessary skills to create a data-driven company. It previously had tremendous success in Europe and is now making its debut in Canada.
