Lately there has been all this talk about Big Data but few fail to understand what it really means and how it will impact the business world. Big Data is the same thing as regular data except that there is a lot of it. Big data is an aggregation of large datasets that are too large to manage using traditional methods.

Big data sets can range from a few dozen terabytes to many petabytes in a single data set. Common management issues include the storage, capture, search, and sharing of data.These common issues further make important tasks such as analysis and visualization difficult.

So Why all the Fuss?

The increases in size of the large data sets have made relational database operations increasingly difficult and or slow to execute. As industries such as health care move to an increased reliance on data, the need for rapid data processing and retrieval has also increased.

What does this mean for your business?

As business needs and regulatory requirements increase your storage consumption, it is essential that your organization is aware of the tools available to managing the exploding influx of data. Platforms such as Apache Hadoop and technologies such as EMC’s Isilon storage system make big data management easier. Failing to properly plan for Big data can end up costing your company big time.

Quick Big Data Facts

The Obama administration is investing over 200 million dollars in big data research projects. [source]

235 Terabytes of data has been collected by the U.S Library of Congress In April 2011 [source]

30 billion pieces of content are shared on facebook daily. [source]

An IT consulting firm can put together a big data strategy for your organization. Even if your organization is not facing data constraints now it is imperative that there is a plan in place for future data growth.

Links:

Clientfit IT Consulting Services
Infographic: Exploding Data – The Potential of Big Data. – Winfographics
Clientfit IT Purchasing