BIG DATA AT A GLIMPSE

Every one of you might have heard the term ‘data’, but here is something different called as ‘Big Data’. Nowadays the term Big Data is encountered more often and it is really important  to have knowledge of the same. Nowadays it is a key to success for almost every organisation . Some of you might be aware of it and many of you may not. If you are really tech savy or a technical explorer , here is what I got for you all. I am sure after reading this you will have clear picture of the topic.

So in this post we’ll be covering

What is Big Data?

Why it is used?

How to deal with it?

Current Situation in the Market.

Big Data Analytics as a career.

Starting with the introduction of big data , its is basically huge amount of data which is growing at an exponential rate and is difficult or sometimes impossible to store and process it with the help of traditional data management tools.Hundreds of millions of data is generated by some or the other resources everyday, this data is collectively called as big data. Let’s suppose the example of Air traffic control, many aeroplanes are flying in the sky at the same time and each aircraft sends some amount of data in the form of signals. Air traffic control has to receive each data and store for further usage. Data from each aircraft eventually results to huge quantity of data and is referred to as big data.

Technically speaking, Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data , both structured and unstructured , that flourishes a business on a day-to-day basis.

Big Data is nowadays very important for organisations to compete in the market.The importance of big data doesn’t revolve around how much data you have, but what you do with it. Every business model of any company needs to be analysed and this analysis can be done only when the company has enough data of it to be analysed. Having big data with them, companies can strategise the models to be in reach of almost everyone and is a key to success . It may also reduce root causes of failure, fraud , risk to any organisation.

Big data can be understood with the help of 4 V’s of data:

Volume : The amount of data matters. Organizations collect data from a variety of sources, including business transactions, social media and information from sensor or machine-to-machine data. For some organizations, this might be tens of terabytes of data. For others, it may be hundreds of petabytes.

Velocity : Velocity refers to the speed at which the data is coming in and how quickly the organizations are analysing and utilizing it. 

Variety :  Data comes in all types of formats , traditional data that are structured and fit neatly in a relational database. With the rise of big data, data comes in new unstructured data types. Unstructured data such as text, audio, and video require additional preprocessing to derive meaning.

Value : Data gathered should have some value, but it’s of no use until that value is discovered. Equally important is how truthful is your data and how much can you rely on it ? Think of some of the world’s biggest tech companies. A large part of the value they offer comes from their data, which they’re constantly analysing to produce more efficiency and develop new products.

Storing Big Data and processing it at a given time contraint has been a big problem and is difficult now also . But due to evolution of new technologies and data management softwares this difficulty is reduced many folds. If you guys have heard of Hadoop , it is a open source framework platform,  that allows you to first store Big Data in a distributed environment, so that, you can process it parallely.Not going into much details of Hadoop I can only say that it is one of the most accurate framework to work upon big data. People who work upon Big Data are known as Big Data Analytics or Data Scientists. 

Big data affects almost every Industry and is affecting as well.Many industries rely on big data and its analysis for their profits and success.Following are the sectors where big data is widely used:

Social Media Platforms : Many social media applications like facebook, Twitter, linkedIn, Youtube etc, are working on big data analysis, as hundreds of millions terabytes of data is being generated everyday. So each one of them is analysing the patterns  of their customers and is working to satisfy their needs and aspectations.

Banking: With large amounts of information streaming in from countless sources, banks are faced with finding new and innovative ways to manage big data. While it’s important to understand customers and boost their satisfaction, it’s equally important to minimize risk and fraud while maintaining regulatory compliance. 

Government : When government agencies are able to harness and apply analytics to their big data, they gain significant ground when it comes to managing utilities, running agencies, dealing with traffic congestion or preventing crime. But while there are many advantages to big data, governments must also address issues of transparency and privacy.

Manufacturing : Armed with insight that big data can provide, manufacturers can boost quality and output while minimizing waste – processes that are key in today’s highly competitive market. More and more manufacturers are working in an analytics-based culture, which means they can solve problems faster and make more agile business decisions.

Education : Educators armed with data-driven insight can make a significant impact on school systems, students and curriculums. By analyzing big data, they can identify at-risk students, make sure students are making adequate progress, and can implement a better system for evaluation and support of teachers and principals.

Is Big Data Analytics a good career option ?

The Great White is considered to be the King of the Ocean. This is because the great White is on top of its game. Imagine if you could be on top of the game in the ocean of Big Data!

Big Data is everywhere and there is almost an urgent need to collect and preserve whatever data is being generated, for the fear of missing out on something important. There is a huge amount of data floating around. What we do with it is all that matters right now. This is why Big Data Analytics is in the frontiers of IT. Big Data Analytics has become crucial as it aids in improving business, decision makings and providing the biggest edge over the competitors. This applies for organisations as well as professionals in the Analytics domain. For professionals, who are skilled in Big Data Analytics, there is an ocean of opportunities out there.