Big Data

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Introduction Big data is a concept that has been misunderstood therefore I will be writing this paper with the intentions of thoroughly discussing this technological concept and all its dimensions with regard to what constitutes big data and how the term came about. The rapid innovations in Information Technology have brought about the realisation of big data. The concept of big data is complex and has different connotations but I intend to clarify its functions. Big data refers to the concept of a collection of large and complex amounts of data that are found extremely difficult to notate or even process by most on-hand devices and database technologies. Definition Big data will then be defined as large collections of complex data which can either be structured or unstructured. Big data is difficult to notate and process due to its size and raw nature. The nature of this data makes it important for analyses of information or business functions and it creates value. According to Manyika, Chui et al. (2011: 1), “Big data is not defined by its capacity in terms of terabytes but it’s assumed that as technology progresses, the size of datasets that are considered as big data will increase”. Background of big data Big data originated with web search companies that encountered problems with querying large amounts of both structured and unstructured data. With regard to its background, “big data came into being when web search companies developed ways to perform distributed computing on large data sets on computer clusters” Floyer (2014: 1). Big data then spread to enterprises due to their adoption of developing, processing and dissemination of data. Characteristics of big data • Volume: refers to the increase of the amount of data... ... middle of paper ... ...hui. 2012. Why big data is the new competitive advantage. [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 2014-03-14]. Agrawal, D. Bernstein, P et al. 2012. Challenges and opportunities with big data. [Online] Available from: < http://www.cra.org/ccc/files/docs/init/bigdatawhitepaper.pdf> [Downloaded: 2014-03-14]. Intel IT Centre. 2013. Big data in the cloud: Converging Technologies. [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 2014-03-15]. Vorhies, B. 2013. How many “V’s” in big data- The Characteristics that define big data. [Online] Available from: < http://data-magnum.com/how-many-vs-in-big-data-the-characteristics-that-define-big-data/> [Accessed: 2014-03-15].

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