What is Big Data?

               Big Data simply refers to the huge quantity of data which can be either structured or unstructured that is used by an organisation for its day to day activities. The quantity of data is so vast that it couldn't be analysed using the traditional methods available. So what makes makes the Big Data really big? Of course, its not the size of the data that makes it important, its what businesses do with it makes it much valuable. Big Data helps the businesses to take decisions or make strategies by conducting a study of these data. Businesses used to analyse data from earlier days itself but it really became a point of interest among businesses from the year 2000.

The 3 V's of Big Data

Volume - Businesses use different ways to collect data. Some of the common techniques used are by analyzing electronic transactions, social media activity, smart devices and much more. It would have been really impossible in the past to store such huge amount of data, but today with the advancement in technology nothing seems impossible.

Velocity - Velocity refers to the speed with which the huge amount of data should be tracked, stored and analysed for future reference. Because of the most modern technologies like Smart Meters, Sensors and RFID tags the task of tracking, storing and analyzing huge amount of data is possible.

Variety - The data comes in different varieties. These include structured, unstructured, numerical, images, videos, documents etc. Variety simply refers to these different types of data that are available to businesses.

Importance of Big Data

The importance of Big Data lies not about how much huge quantity of data you have, but its about how effectively you use it. When data is properly analyzed it helps businesses to make decisions on reducing costs, developing new product, efficient management of time, long term decision making etc.

Reference

Big Data: What it is and why it matters

https://www.sas.com/en_ie/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html