Big data
point the beginning of a major transformation, what challenges the way we live
and interact with the world. The term refers to a huge volume of diverse,
complex and fast-changing data that come from new data sources. Due to its
large volume, it is difficult to manage, store and process this data using the
traditional computing approach within a given time frame.
When it
comes to which amount of data can be termed Big Data, either gigabytes,
terabytes, petabytes, exabytes or anything larger than this is considered as
Big Data, therefore it is important to analyse the context in which it is being
used, because even small amounts of data can be considered Big Data.
It is possible to classify Big Data into
three categories:
- Structured:
refers to any data which can be stored, processed, and accessed in a fixed
format. The way to obtain value out of it and the format of this type of
data is previously known. For example, information that is present in any
database software.
- Unstructured:
describes the data that does not have an specific format or structure, for
example, mix of text files, videos, images and social media content. Its
size is massive and it can be considered as untouchable due the fact of
not meet conventional norms. Moreover, it is not easy to derive value from
this type of data.
- Semi-structured:
refers to any data that is stored in non-relational databases or even XML
file, for example. This type of data does not have a proper structure
associated with it.
In the early 2000’s the concept of Big Data in the form of the three V’s
was articulated by Doug Laney, they are volume, which refers to
the number of data that is getting generated; velocity, that is the speed at which data is being created; and variety, that refers to the different types of data that are being made. With the power of analyzing this large scale of data is possible to extract new insights and
generate unique forms of value in ways to transform markets, organizations, the
bond between government and citizens, and so on.
References
Mayer-Schönberger,
V. and Cukier, K., 2013. Big data: A revolution that will transform how we
live, work, and think. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Sagiroglu, S. and Sinanc, D., 2013, May. Big
data: A review. In 2013 international conference on collaboration technologies and systems
(CTS) (pp. 42-47).
IEEE.
Ray,
R. (2018) ‘The Complete Beginner’s Guide To Big Data in 2018’, Medium.
Available at: https://medium.com/swlh/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-big-data-in-2018-82ed7a396ba3
(Accessed: 27 Jan 2020).
Shahzan
(2019) ‘Big Data Explained in Plain and Simple English’, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/swlh/big-data-explained-38656c70d15d
(Accessed: 27 Jan 2020).
