Revolutionary New Technologies are Needed to Deliver Information in Age of Big Data
November 29, 2012
A recent article from The Wall Street Journal discussed how big data was the next Next Big Thing. “Big Data Is On The Rise, Bringing Big Data Questions” cites the recent Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford Event that focused on this very topic. Even though the phrase is used so frequently, big data solutions have only gone beyond a pilot stage in about 6 percent of companies. 18 percent are still in the pilot stage.
These statistics show the reason behind all the mention of big data in the media. Companies want to understand it and why they need it. Data evangelists say that it holds the significance of our businesses, lives and society.
The article talks the business side of things while referencing one of the presenters:
Michael Chui has extensively researched the area for McKinsey Global Institute. His conclusion is emphatic: ‘The use of data and analytics in general is going to be a basis of competition going forward for individual firms, for sectors and even for countries. Those companies that are able to use data effectively are more likely to win in the marketplace.’
Whether big data has already exploded or the best is yet to come, one thing is for sure. Companies utilizing next-generation solutions to deliver information, such as PolySpot, in this age of big data are bound to outdo those who are not currently invested in this kind of revolutionary technology.
Megan Feil, November 29, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Extract Meaningful Insight and Deliver Information with PolySpot Technology
November 28, 2012
When regular media means do not work to process data, you know you are dealing with big data. Marketing Pilgrim discusses this concept in their recent article, “Just How Big is Big Data.” Many organizations are currently focused on how to pinpoint the information they need, build off of insights from it and share it across the enterprise.
However, the biggest challenge for companies, according to Monetate’s new Infographic “The Retailer’s Guide to Big Data” is that it is difficult to calculate ROI.
The article told us:
45% said they aren’t using the data effectively to personalize marketing efforts and that’s a catch all for a lot of problems. That also goes along with the third highest response, “not able to link the data together at the individual customer level.” What both of those buckets are saying is that we know the data is out there, we know it’s useful, but we don’t know how to make it so.
The question is not how big is big data. Instead, we wonder how big big data will get. Enterprise organizations only have more vested in big data as the days go by when they use solutions like PolySpot to extract meaningful knowledge and information and enable users across the enterprise to access this information.
Megan Feil, November 28, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Do Not Always Use Relational Databases
November 28, 2012
Relational databases are the building blocks for most digital information structures, not to mention the basis for big name software such as Oracle and NoSQL. Infoworld noticed that the high demand in Big Data requires developers to take a second look at the type of databases they are using with “10 Things Never to Do With a Relational Database.”
The article is a list that focuses on tasks that most people try to complete with relational databases, such as e-mail, media repository, product cataloguing, high frequency trading, and more. The number one item to never do with a relational database is search.
The articles states:
“Even the most dedicated Oracle shops tend not to use Oracle Text, the extension Oracle bought for its database but doesn’t seem to develop very actively. Instead, you see a lot of people using complicated queries that are heavy on like and or operators. The results for these are ugly and the capabilities are weak — and the processes for getting the data just the way Oracle needs it are tough. Outside of Oracle, many other RDBMS products don’t have real search extensions.”
Most developers turn to outside search applications, like those created by the open source community. Search is a complicated matter that does not fit into the usual square relational database model. Out-of-the-box solutions are not programmed to do the heavy lifting needed for Big Data search. LucidWorks is a full-scale company that developed search applications especially for Big Data. The professional staff and dedicated engineers at LucidWorks give customers a confidence in having problems solved efficiently that some other open source companies may lack.
Whitney Grace, November 28, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Structured and Unstructured Data Join Forces Through PolySpot Technology
November 27, 2012
It was not surprising to learn of the large amount of spending towards big data in 2011 from a new study by the Experton Group. Over $4.3 billion dollars was spent, according to that study. It will not stop there, either. Spending is expected to increase at a rate of 36% each year for the next four years according to the Smart Planet article, “What Makes Big Data So ‘Big’”
Of course, we have seen venture capitalists dote over vendors in this arena and that will continue too. Traditional technologies involved in the data management realm are not to be forsaken, however.
We learned:
Organizations with their relational database systems — built up and tweaked and perfected over the past two decades — would have no issues amping up the amount of transactional or structured data, even if it did go into the petabye or even exabyte range. But today’s data environments are simply not ready for the deluge of unstructured data — all those tweets, all those log files, all those videos. And it’s unstructured data that will drive new capabilities, new collaboration and new innovation.
Opportunities and insights come from a variety of data types – both structured and unstructured. That is precisely why organizations need a big data solution such as PolySpot that connect all types of information and data in order to churn out important knowledge to departments all over the enterprise.
Megan Feil, November 27, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
A Big Year for Search, Expect More in the Future
November 27, 2012
The year 2012 has been one of the biggest for search and data. Big Data has been and will be the list term when it comes to analyzing data and finding new business insights. Search has made many big leaps as well and the BDaily Business News Network ran down the achievements and what we can expect in 2013 in the article, “Search, the Future, and the Big Data World.”
About 80% of the data generated in the workplace is unstructured—meaning humans have created it. Before unstructured data can be searched it needs to be preprocessed, which leads to Big Data. Enterprise search developers are well aware of the need to normalize unstructured data and have created technology this past year that makes the process quicker and reliable. It helps put back the human element, the “why” the data was came into existence in the first place.
Fat piles continue to grow and even with Big Data software, one key component remains the same: search.
The article puts it this way:
“Despite these acquisitions, enterprise search continues to be of growing importance in its own right. The process of finding information becomes more difficult as data sizes scale. At the same time, in the information economy, finding information – whether it is to check a fact, retrieve a known document, or conduct new research into a subject – remains a critical part of the process of doing business…In conclusion, a well-implemented enterprise search system remains a key component for driving business productivity.”
Search is and will always remain one of the core essential functions of the Big Data game. Search pares down the irrelevant data to pull out the key facts a user is looking for. Data is only as useful as long as it can be found. It still remains a quick fact that software designed specifically for search proves to be a good investment on the part of Big Data. LucidWorks, the search experts, have been ingrained in the Big Bata boom since the start and have developed a search application useful for developers and end users alike.
Whitney Grace, November 27, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Enterprise Productivity Can Only Climb With Information At Work
November 26, 2012
A recent article from Slashdot mentions the increasing convoluted nature of the big data industry and the likelihood that it will only increase from here on out. The article, “How To Be Successful with Big Data Integration,” offers up a few pieces of advice for organizations primed and ready to begin their exploration of big data tools and processes related to extracting insights and opportunities from the bytes and bytes of information out there.
Hadoop and Hadoop variations make up a fairly large chunk of the resources available. Many organizations also turn to other NoSQL databases and high-performance relational analytic databases. Still others seek a fully comprehensive big data solution that reaches the entire enterprise.
We learned from the article that in order to find success with this method an organization should:
Facilitates integration with enterprise data—even big data cannot thrive on its own. Ultimately, enterprises need to integrate their big data platform with the rest of their data stores. To make this happen, they need effective tools to connect their Hadoop and NoSQL databases with traditional relational databases, data exchange formats, and enterprise applications.
Tools like PolySpot’s Information At Work have a library of over one hundred connectors, and thus little chance that information will not be delivered quickly, securely and with integrity. Productivity was never this easy.
Megan Feil, November 26, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
IntelTrax Summary November 16 to November 22
November 26, 2012
This week the IntelTrax advanced intelligence blog published some excellent pieces regarding the state of big data and analytics technologies.
“Diversity is the New Key for Analytic Success” looks at how Burberry is using analytics technology to analyze customer buying behavior.
The article states:
“SAP is pushing further in this vein and has this week announced its SAP Customer 360 transactional system which the firm says is being used by fashion retailer Burberry to analyse customer buying behaviour and provide on the floor sales staff with access to big data analytics on mobile devices. This “immediate information” is then (in theory) available to help these same staff personalise fashion advice to customers.
Do we really want this amount of technology in our lives?
SAP’s other Co-CEO Bill McDermott has predicted that by 2030 there will be an additional two billion consumers on the planet by 2030 and … “They want to purchase in the digital world,” he said.”
Another interesting story, “Big Data Moves Continue” announced some impressive news in the big data community.
The article states:
“Cray announced it was awarded a contract to deliver a uRiKA graph-analytics appliance to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Analysts at ORNL will use the uRiKA system as they conduct research in healthcare fraud and analytics for a leading healthcare payer. The uRiKA system is a Big Data appliance for graph analytics that enables discovery of unknown relationships in Big Data. It is a highly scalable, real-time platform for ad hoc queries, pattern-based searches, inferencing and deduction.
“Identifying healthcare fraud and abuse is challenging due to the volume of data, the various types of data, as well as the velocity at which new data is created. YarcData’s uRiKA appliance is uniquely suited to take on these challenges, and we are excited to see the results that will come from the strategic analysis of some very large and complex data sets,” said Jeff Nichols, Associate Laboratory Director for Computing and Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”
“Big Data Expert Overlooks the Obvious” shares some interesting thoughts on the future of big data. However, it leaves out some pretty important things.
The article states:
“The goal of all the discussion around big data and data analysis is, as I’ve argued, not to make the wrong decision faster, but to develop the best decision at the right time and deliver the information to the people that most need the information. In an Information Week column Wednesday, Tony Byrne argued small data beat big data in the presidential election.
Call it business intelligence, data analysis or predictive analytics, IT’s role here is to provide a foundation for your company to make the right decisions. Those decisions might be what to charge passengers for seats on a flight, how much to charge to for a season ticket or how many widgets to create to strike the right balance among manufacturing costs, inventory and availability. These decisions are fundamental to business success.”
When it comes to finding big data intelligence solutions that work for your organization, it is important that businesses find a trusted provider. Digital Reasoning’s Synthesys helps streamline expenses for intelligence, healthcare and finance clients.
Jasmine Ashton, November 26, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
The Future of Presentation Titles
November 24, 2012
Short honk: I sat through a presentation by a European futurist. I enjoyed the inclusion of the Gangnam horsey dance. But the highlight of the presentation by self described “futurist, author, and CEO of the Futures Agency” Gerd Leonhard was the title of the presentation:
Big Data, Big Mobile, Big Social. Big Bucks. Big Noise. Big Machines. The Future of the Internet.
In case you want to get the nuggets, click this link.
Other notable conference highlights included three fire alarms between 4 am and 5 30 am on November 20, 2012, interesting Internet connectivity, and the repetition of the phrase “big data”. I thought I was listening to a high-tech version of the non Gangnam style tune “99 Bottles of Beer.”
Big. Repetitive too.
Stephen E Arnold, November 24, 2012
Established Search Providers Like Intrafind Design a Big Data Future with Results
November 23, 2012
What is Big Data and what can it do for businesses today? That seems to be the billion dollar question, as businesses literally spent billions on Big Data programs, software and projects this past year. The irony is that despite all the headline hype and the funds being invested, companies are still not sure what they are getting out of Big Data according to Business Insider’s article “Enterprises Are Spending Wildly On ‘Big Data’ But Don’t Know If It’s Worth It Yet”.
This is not to say that corporations do not have Big Data designs in mind for the future:
“Big Data” means scooping up large quantities of information, often from nontraditional, server-busting sources like Web traffic logs or social media, and using it to make business decisions in real time. Including things like watching competitors, monitoring their own brands, creating new services that they can sell, and tracking product and pricing information.”
With over $4.3 billion spent in 2012 and an estimated $34 billion expected in 2013 it is no wonder that Big Data has been generating a lot of buzz. However, all the hype means nothing without an eventual increase in efficiency and ROI. When it comes to finding the right data, companies would benefit from the use of an established search provider like Intrafind that offers rich tagging features and secure search within the enterprise.
Jennifer Shockley, November xx, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data Solutions Mirror Fundamental Processes Found in Ancient Mayan Society
November 23, 2012
While the ancient Mayans are recognized for their ability to make accurate predictions and build off of insights, our world is not lacking this today. In fact, our thirst for knowledge from big data parallels exactly what the ancient Mayan’s sought. Wired‘s recent article, “Big Data in a Big Brave World,” makes this connection apparent and discusses the advances that many organizations have experiences while utilizing big data in the same way fundamental to the ways our human nature innately leads us to explore and capitalize on information.
Both product development and risk analysis are areas where big data has created room for exciting and beneficial advancements. For example, ZDLink is a service in Japan developed for Hitachi’s heavy construction business which enables the real-time monitoring of its vehicles.
According to the article:
Organizations — both public and private — are collecting vast amounts of data about their customers, products and the macroeconomic environment, which can be analyzed to identify trends, problems and opportunities. Companies can then introduce new products and services, ways of working or solutions that can solve real-world problems and enable radical change, beyond the corporate world.
We look forward to seeing even more innovations from companies that take advantage of big data solutions that deliver information across the enterprise, such as PolySpot. The Mayans certainly were not the only ones with a proclivity for big data.
Megan Feil, November 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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