Your technology is generating data whenever you use your smartphone, when you chat with your family and friends on Facebook, and when you shop. Anytime you go online, you’re producing data and leaving a digital trail of information. All of this data is very complex, there’s so much of it from many different sources, and it’s coming in quickly in real-time.
This is Big Data.
Businesses use all of this data to create customized and improved experiences for all of us. There are billions of gigabytes of data being generated every single day by people and technologies all around the world. They use this data to figure out what kind of new drink people will like, or where would be a good place to open up a new store location.
We are living in a world of Big Data.
But businesses are not just simply collecting all of this data that we are generating. They’re actually analyzing it, and finding ways to improve their products and services, which in turn shapes our lives and the experiences that we are having with the world around us. That is what Big Data is: it’s all of the data being generated in the digital era from all of the different types of technologies out there.
But what is the specific purpose of Big Data? What are major companies doing with it? How does it affect us?
- Data is always being generated by digital technologies, whether we are using apps on our phones, interacting on our social media, or shopping for products. All of this information combines with other data sources and becomes Big Data.
- Companies even combine Big Data with technologies like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to further improve their ability to enhance our daily lives with faster, more personalized experiences.
- Data is being produced by manufacturing machinery, healthcare equipment at the hospital or doctor’s office, electronic airline tickets at an airport, and from the computer in a connected car.
- Big Data comes from text, audio, video, and images.
- Big Data is analyzed by organizations and businesses for reasons like discovering patterns and trends related to human behavior and our interaction with technology, which can then be used to make decisions that impact how we live, work, and play.
Just think that as we go about our daily lives, our technology and Big Data is helping businesses to understand more about us, and this information is used in turn to shape our experiences for the better.
