As the name says it is data which is really big. Yes, it is as simple as that, but not sure when you are going to understand the basics of why it came, how it came, and why today it is going on a hike. It falls true that a large volume of data that can be structured or unstructured data is termed as Big Data. Big Data can be small and really small at just a few MBs. Then but it is the organization that works on large data, and these data are known as Big Data.
If you have not understood the Big Data till now then let us clear you the concepts in regards to Big Data. First, let’s start with the definition: “Datasets which are big and complex and are used by data processing software’s to calculate, process and change the data, either for data storage or data analysis is known as Big Data.” Now an older definition by Mr. Gartner gave back in 2001, “Big Data is data that contains greater variety arriving in increasing volumes and with ever-higher velocity. This is known as the three Vs”
Importance of Big Data
X amount of data can be stored in hard drives, can be stored on servers and can be processed, it is not the time, but the amount of work you need to do. Hence it is big data that reduce time, cost, and helps in new product development, and even in smart decision making. Big Data when combined with high–powered analytic software then you can help a number of business-related tasks such as. Causes of failures and defects, generating coupons in bulk, calculating risks of portfolios, detect frauds in an organization.
The Three Vs of Big Data
The three Vs of Big Data are Volume, Velocity, and Variety. Let us start straight away with the three Vs.
Volume
Mostly the big in the big data stands for volume. Here we always process a large number of volumes which are of low density, i.e. unstructured data. For example, these unstructured data can belong to Twitter data feeds, webpage, sensor-enabled equipment, self-driving cars, etc. All this information can be either in zettabytes or terabytes, hence this huge volume of data needs to be processed and is the main reason for the data to be called Big Data and is then proceed in big data standards.
Velocity
There are many materials which work in real-time and hence we require a speed with which we can store this big amount of data for every minute. The speed of disks is less than that of in-stream data. Hence if the velocity of data is high, and hence no time to process it to be structured then it is said to be big data.
Variety
In earlier days we used to have data bifurcated into different types of data types, but now all the data is scattered and hence cannot fit into a relational database. Hence unstructured and semi-structured data such as text files, audio, a video that requires additional preprocessing is the additional variety of data that fall with Big Data.
Big Data is a new capital where the new tech companies are heading. Data holds a large value for each company’s data. Big Data recently have been used in predictive maintenance, customer experience, fraud and compliance, machine learning, operational efficiency, drive innovation, and other fields.
There are many challenges that come with big data, we will surely be learning more about big data in the coming days.
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