Big data is the fuel for today’s analytics applications. This in-depth big data guide explains how businesses can benefit from it and what they need to do to use it effectively.
The development of big data technologies unlocked a treasure trove of information for businesses. Before that, BI and analytics applications were mostly limited to structured data stored in relational databases and data warehouses — transactions and financial records, for example. A lot of potentially valuable data that didn’t fit the relational mold was left unused. No more, though.
Big data environments can be used to process, manage and analyze many different types of data. The data riches now available to organizations include customer databases and emails, internet clickstream records, log files, images, social network posts, sensor data, medical information and much more.
Ida Byrd-Hill is a futurist, economist and CEO of Automation Workz, a cybersecurity reskilling and diversity consulting firm. She is author of Invisible Talent Market, a Black Labor Economics History book. She holds an MBA from the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University, with a specialization in People Management/Strategy and a BA Economics from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. Byrd-Hill has appeared in Associated Press, BBC, Crain’s Business Detroit, CW Street Beat, Cybercrime Magazine, Daytime NBC, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Essence Magazine, Good Morning America, Let It Rip, Michigan Chronicle, Model D, NPR, PBS, and X-conomy. www.autoworkz.org/diverse-lens
