BIG DATA : WHAT EXACTLY IS IT ?

We have all heard the term ‘Big Data’ before, but did you spare a moment to learn what exactly it is? How it works? How important it is ? And what the future of big data would look like?

Big Data basically refers to a huge amount of data, that is rapidly growing every day. It comes in massive sizes and its very complex in nature.

Essentially, big data is a combination of structured, unstructured, and semi structured data.

Structured – well organized set of data

Unstructured – unorganized data in the raw format

Semi-Structured – partially organized data

Since there is no definite numerical standard to define big, big data is often characterized by three factors. They are:

Volume - huge amounts of data typically being stored in Terabytes, Petabytes, Exabytes, Zettabytes and Yottabytes.

Velocity - massive speed at which data flows in, is processed and collected.

Variety – data is obtained through various sources

In addition to these 3V’s , there are few other characteristics such as veracity: trustworthiness of data and the variability of ways businesses can use and process data.

Nowadays, big data is used by businesses extensively in analysis. It helps them improve their operations, enhance customer service, create personalized marketing campaigns, and hence maximize their profits.

Big data is used across many sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, telecommunication, sports, finance, governments and many more. It helps medical companies to identify disease risk factors and diagnose illnesses, it enables energy companies to identify drilling and oil location and aids governments with crime detection and emergency response.