Big data is big news these days, and as a result, there are many myths about big data floating about that need to be debunked before they get out of hand.
Big data and the myths circulating about it aren’t, however, big news and potentially bigger problems without good cause because the volume of data being created is exponential and it’s important to understand just how big the volume of data we’re talking about is.
So how big is big data? Put it this way, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each and every day and over 90 percent of that data was created in the past four years alone.
Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt, cited in a 2012 IBM eBook, claims that ‘every two days the world creates as much information as it did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003.’
This is an incredible amount of information, and as a result, it’s natural that myths like those below would arise and circulate rapidly.
- Big data is a fad
It’s all too easy to dismiss big data as yet another fad or buzzword that’s here today and forgotten about tomorrow, but when you take into account just how many business organisations are collecting and analysing big data, that myth becomes very easy to debunk.
Yes, it’s true that a high percentage of business organisations – particularly small to medium sized enterprises – are yet to leverage big data to their advantage, but that’s predominantly because many mistakenly believe they can’t afford to engage in big data analytics – yet another myth.
- Businesses need all the data they collect
This is a prominent myth about big data and one that’s made many business organisations reluctant to start collecting and managing big data.
Some business organisations are of the mind that because ‘they need all the data they collect’, they need to hire ‘data scientists’ to trawl through and make sense of their data which simply isn’t true.
‘Little data’ is emerging as a rival to big data, one that business organisations should be focusing more upon; however, it’s important to understand that little data is created from big data by setting refined parameters for the data they collect and manage.
- Big data yields certainty
A mistake many business managers are guilty of is believing that big data yields certainty by eliminating uncertainty.
Whilst big data reduces certainty, it isn’t capable of eliminating it, and uncertainty will always play a prominent role in decision making.
- Big data comes from social media alone
Big data would still be big even if it did come from social media alone but it certainly wouldn’t be as big.
The ‘three Vs’ of big data are volume, velocity and variety and it’s the third of these that highlights the fact that big data doesn’t come from social media alone, but rather a variety of sources.
- Big data equals Hadoop
Hadoop, an open-source software framework, is the most widely recognised name for dealing with big data but that doesn’t mean it’s the only technology framework businesses and other organisations can use to make sense of big data as there are other frameworks they can utilise, like IBM Netezza and Teradata, both of which are increasingly prominent.
Big data, given the frequency in which the term is used, will be subject to many more myths regarding its applications, usability and of course security, the area in which there exists the greatest number of concerns; however, by debunking myths like those above, the world brings itself closer to understanding and harnessing this amazing source of information.
