Journal of Data Manaagement and Computer Science Vol. 2(1), pp. 007-009, July, 2015 Available online at http://www.apexjournal.org ©2015 Apex Journal International
Review
Big Data: A contemporary technology Bayo Olushola Omoyiola School of Information Systems and Technology,College of Management and Technology Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America. Email:
[email protected] Received 12 June, 2015; Accepted 10 July, 2015; Published 17 July, 2015
The impact of Big Data cannot be over emphasized. Over the years, technology has become more and more indispensable and in recent times, it has become more and more relevant to the 21st century world. The applications are used in almost every sector and field of human endeavour. In this articles, we take a critical look at the importance of making use of Big Data Technology and we analyse its social implications, its risks & challenges and the present & future opportunities it offers to the world. Key words: Big data, data, risks, challenges, implications, opportunities, data source, data types INTRODUCTION We are presently in an information age where data is on the increase. People are always on the internet and web traffic is often enormous. Every day, transactions are done online and in malls with credit cards and debit cards. All of these transactions involve data and the amount of data has grown so big. That brings us to big data. You may want to know, what is big data? The first use of the word “big data” can be traced back to the 1980’s when discussions on large datasets were being held in the academia and in the industry but the first academic definition of big data is – “the explosion in the quantity (and sometimes the quality) of available and potentially relevant data, largely as a result of recent and unprecedented advancements in data recording and storage technology” (Diebold, 2000 as cited by Yan, 2013). Big data could also be defined in terms of 5 V’s namely: i. Volume - which could be defined as the size of datasets and storage ii. Velocity - which could be defined as the speed of incoming real time/near time data iii. Veracity - which is synonymous with correctness and integrity of data iv. Variety - which is synonymous with Data types and sources v. Value - which has to do with the usefulness and correlations of data (Armour, 2012 as cited by Yan, 2013)
Boyd and Crawford (2012) argues that “the era of big data has begun”. Lots and lots of people are seeking for massive quantities of data material of production. According to Michael and Miller (2013), big data will change the way we live in both small and large ways. But come to think of it, big data has emerged a system of knowledge that is already changing objects of knowledge and is having great influence on the human community. Its effects is now social, economic and technological and the resulting explosion of data and discovery is changing our world. IMPLICATIONS Big Data has many social implications. The technology has been used to improve efficiency and decision making. It has also been used to prevent disaster, control fraud, boost profit, forecast weather and market trends and to scan the environment to identify new market and new market trends. Furthermore, it is used to aid business transaction and national security (Bollier, 2010). According to Basak (2013), the applications of Big Data also include: ERP/CRM applications used for sales pipeline, payroll, inventory, payables, contacts, deal tracking, authorizing requests etc; Web applications used for collaboration, advertising, digital marketing, ecommerce, recommendation, mobile and web logs; and Internet of things covers texts/image, sensors/RFID,
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Figure 1. Showing what Big Data is.Basak(2013).
weather, spatial and GPS coordinates, audio/video, data market feeds and log files etc. (Figure 1).
RISKS AND CHALLENGES The users of Big Data technology also face some risks and challenges. Though the benefits override the risks. Over the years, there has been an incremental adverse effect on privacy. There is also the fear that automated decision making may lead to discrimination and narrowing of choice. The limited or lack of access to big data of some users and companies has also been creating a digital divide. While some of them are experiencing overdependence on data, some are battling with cybersecurity risks while others are having the fear of the harms outweighing the benefits. Lastly, there is the fear that future big data applicationsmay have unpredictable analysis as data scientists strive to expose new patterns which had been hidden (Michael and Miller, 2013).
OPPORTUNITIES In today’s world, opportunities abound for the big data
technology. Apart from the benefits already mentioned as implications, there are still many more opportunities. There is a predictive’ software that can tell people’s hidden behavioural patterns and intentions. There are advances in data storage and mining technologies. There are also multimedia applications that use big data. In the health care sector, patient’s data could lead to discovery of cures, e-health networks for CT, X-ray and MRI etc. In the Security sector, big data can be used for Law enforcement and security. It can also be used for surveillance and criminal investigation (Michael and Miller, 2013). Big data also serves as a good indispensable and inexhaustible resourcefor the public resource. Lastly, when large companies implement Big Data, more jobs could be created for the unemployed. CONCLUSION In this paper, Big Data was presented as one of the contemporary technologies of the information age and how it analysed the positive social implications it has on the society. Then we analysed the risks and challenges facing it and then evaluated the opportunities it offers. The impacts of the big data technology have been huge and its benefits are immense. Though limited by the risks and challenges, its impact and the present & future opportunities it offers are far more exceeding.
Omoyiola
REFERENCES Basak, A. (2013). A Lap Around Big Data With Microsoft HDInsight. Retrieved from: http://architects.dzone.com/articles/lap-around-bigdata-microsoft [9, June 2015] Bollier, D. (2010). The Promise and Peril of Big Data, Washington, DC, The Aspen Institute. Boyd, D. and Crawford, K. (2012). Critical Questions for Big Data, Information Communication & Society, 15(5), 662-67, DOI:10.1080/1369118X.2012.678878.
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Michael, K. and Miller, K.W. (2013). Big Data: New Opportunities and New Challenges, Computer, 46(6), 22-24, DOI: 10.1109/MC.2013.196. Yan, J. (2013). Big Data, Bigger Opportunities. Retrieved from: www.meritalk.com/pdfs/bdx/bdx-whitepaper090413.pdf [27, July 2014].
