What is BIG DATA?

If you are passionate about technology, then you probably heard of Big Data at least once, but if you are not passionate about it, then you might have heard about this topic. Big data is one of the most sought-after subjects on the internet nowadays and this article will explain to you what it is, in a simple way.

Big Data: The Concept

Big data stands for the large amount of data produced every day, which need to be processed and analysed. Everything around us produces data. Cellphones, computers, smart TV, smart watch, video games, smart cars, etc. Basically all recent electronic devices produce data.

The simple act of writing a text on Microsoft Word, watch videos on Youtube, post a photo on Instagram, fill out an online registration form, shopping online, send SMS, make a phone call, send audio or text messages via WhatsApp, use Google Maps, take a plane trip, buy cinema tickets and even writing and publishing this article here on linkedIn generates data.

Now try to imagine the 7.6 billion people in the world doing this every day, on several different devices. Yes, all these actions generate an exorbitant number of online data that is called BIG DATA.

All this data can be structured, semi-structured and unstructured. I will explain these definitions a bit further on this article. Just as an example, nowadays, Facebook generates daily 10TB of data and Twitter 7TB. This is due to the large number of devices connected around the world. Today we have approximately 50 billion devices connected, having only 7.6 billion people worldwide, which produces daily 2.5 quintillion bytes of data.

3Vs of the Big Data

The concept of Big Data can be characterized by three main subjects: volume, velocity and variety.

• Volume: The volume refers to the quantity of data generated every second. All types of data such as video, image, text, audio, data logs, structured or unstructured, from all data sources like social medias, smartphones, online games and blogs are included.
• Velocity: Refers to how fast the data is created, transferred and analysed.
• Variety: Refers to all different sets of data obtained via all types of data sources.

In some types of business companies also can add more 3 Vs to this list: variability, veracity and value.

• Variability: Refers to the consistency of the information flow related to a subject, such as: which smartphone is most purchased, which type of subject is most popular on social networks at the moment, etc. The variability helps companies to verify what are the commercial trends of the moment, facilitating the market focus.
• Veracity: As the name implies, veracity is linked to how true the information is.
• Value: It refers to the value that the data will bring to the corporation. It basically analyzes how important and useful this information is for the company.

Classifying The Data

All this data that is generated every day can be classified in three types: structured, semi-structured and unstructured. This classification simply tells us how this data is organized, displayed and if its structure is human readable. About 90% of all data created nowadays are unstructured.

Structured: structured data is data that has a specific structure, with categories, clusters and definitions, such as location, information about customer profiles, contacts, etc. Ex: financial systems, HR systems, website registration records, etc.

Semi-structured: They present a heterogeneous layout having a structure that is flexible, adaptable. Ex: XML file.

Unstructured: Data that has no structure or minimal structure. It does not follow a specific format. Ex: texts, files, images, videos, audios, and data generated by social media such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter.

Advantages of Big Data

With the voluminous production of data motivated by the technological race, there was a need to analyze these data, generating insights that help companies and governments when making decisions. Big Data analysis aims to discover useful patterns and correlations to be used accurately in decision making. Therefore, this analysis has numerous advantages that you can see below.

Benefits:

• Ability to interpret large amounts of data at once.
• Ability to analyze unstructured data, from different sources, increasing the scope.
• Check market trends.
• Cost reduction.
• Time saving.
• Optimization of decision making.
• Quality control.
• Identify faults, defects and problems practically in real time.
• Create promotions based on the customer's buying habits.
• Detect fraudulent behavior before it damages the business.
• Adapt the market accordingly to the customer needs.
• Increase Customer Acquisition and Retention
• Fraud detection.
• Threat mapping and much more.

Big Data is an essential tool for any type of business. It is part of a digital transformation process that helps companies achieve competitiveness and enhance customer satisfaction.

If you want to read more about Digital Transformation, read my other article Leading in This Digital Era that explores more about this subject.