Monday, January 11, 2016

Is Big Data Really Causing a Revolution?

Imagine all the sand on Myrtle Beach. Miami's famous South Beach stretches over two miles- how many grains of sand do you think it has? And a combination of Delray, Waikiki, Huntington, Sanibel, North Shore, Coronado, and Hermosa Beach? Now imagine all of the grains of sand that grace the shores and the deserts of the rest of the world. How many grains of sand do you fathom that is?

According to Google: seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains of sand. This number is mind-boggling. Even more astonishing- by 2020, we are expected to have 4 times the amount of data as grains of sand on the Earth.


The Big Data Revolution. It is becoming and increasingly hot topic. Aspects of it are terrifying; what does this mean for my privacy? Other aspects of it are delightful; It's making our businesses and our lives operate more efficiently. There's no doubt it's changing the world we live in. But more than anything, it's intriguing everyone; the amount of data that is generated and collected is increasing so rapidly, it's hard to get a grip on it.

Check out this great video about why they consider Big Data to be revolutionizing our world, and what lies in the future of Big Data. Because, really, this is just the beginning.

Some people refer to it instead as the technology revolution. However, technology alone does not accomplish everything that Big Data can. Technology does, however, feed the data. For example, of the 7 billion people on this planet, over 5 billion own a cell phone. Each of these people that own a cell phone contribute to the creation of data.

This is one of the reasons by 2020, we will have 4 times more data than grains of sand on the Earth.

While this is remarkable, it is something that we need to prepare for. Like all past revolutions, some industry will be lost and forgotten. Some people will lose their jobs, and have to be retrained. There certainly are some hardships associated with it. So now is the time to start preparing.

By 2020 we will need 10 times more servers, and 50 times more data management. This means, for those that may lose their jobs, retraining in data science may be a good option.

As more and more companies begin using data solutions, other companies need to understand that if they do not start data mining, they could end up like Blockbuster in a world of video streaming. If you are so unsure as to why data is vital for companies, read this article. 

Both companies and individuals should not fear the Big Data Revolution! Yes, it is changing our world, however you cannot move forward and improve without change. But remember, all great changes are preceded by chaos- so prepare yourself for the chaos to come, and all the great changes that the Big Data Revolution is bringing us.


"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." ~ Socrates 

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