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8 minutes

Big data refers to large data sets of structured (e.g., numeric value) and unstructured data e.g., emails, videos and texts from multiple sources and in multiple formats. Factors associated with big data are: volume (amount of data), velocity (speed of information) and variety (kind of data available).

The value of harnessing big data is to discover trends, patterns and associations to provide better business intelligence for decision-making, more efficient operations and improved customer service.  

  • Challenges: Capturing data, data storage, data analysis, search, sharing, transfer, visualization, querying, updating, information privacy and data sources.
  • Tools: Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark, Apache Storm, Cassandra, MongoDB and many others.
  • Usage: Price optimization, social media analysis and response, Internet of Things, healthcare, retail and many others.