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Taking a Look at Big Data

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What is big data? Big data is structured and unstructured data that is difficult to process using traditional database and software techniques. This is because of its extensive size. Big data ranges “from a few dozen terabytes to many petabytes of data in a single data set – and are constantly growing” (Hopp). A terabyte is equal to 1,024 gigabytes, while a petabyte is equal to 1,024 terabytes. A regular iPhone has 16 gigabytes, so a terabyte contains the same amount of digital storage as 64 iPhones, while a petabyte contains the same amount of digital storage as 65,536 iPhones! Structured data is in a fixed field within a record or file (usually databases or spreadsheets). Unstructured data is unorganized and hard to interpret by traditional databases or data models (like photos, webpages and emails). Structured data is a lot easier to work with and can be easily classified, so it is preferred in big data over unstructured data. Big data is not as new as many people believe it to be. It is actually a concept that has been around for almost a century. It is just the “same old data marketers have always used, and it’s not all that big, and it’s something we should be embracing, not fearing” (Arthur). In 1944, Fremont Rider “predicted that the amount of data in the world would increase exponentially” (Hopp). Rider was right on target with his prediction seventy years ago. Data has grown much greater than he probably could have ever imagined back then. Current databases will

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