Big data is a buzzword youre probably getting sick of hearing but thats no excuse to ignore this megatrend, as big

g data is drastically affecting the future of analytics. The traditional analytical framework, according to experts, is broken and unfit for handling large volumes and varieties of data. so what defines Big Data? Businesses today are digesting more data than ever before but by leveraging this data with the appropriate analytics strategy, they can realize some impressive competitive gains. Unfortunately, most organizations have information stored in various places and are either unable or unwilling to consolidate into a single source, making analytics success a challenge. That being said, there are lots of myths surrounding Big data - let us take top 4 myths and discuss in this blog 1. Big Data is for large volume of data - Volume is just one key element in defining Big Data, and it is arguably the least important of three elements.(the other 2 are - Velocity and Verity - from Doug Laney , Gartner's research report, 2001 ###1). The definition of Big Data is far broader than merely massive data store. But if you talk to any Bigdata vendors, they make a big deal on petabyte / zeta byte scale data. SAP's recent analysis shows more than 90 % of the companies are having volume less than 50 Tera bytes of data.

The amount of data that Facebook and Tweeter are crunching remains the exception, not the norm. You do not have a large volume of data get the real economic value of implementing big data. Now, thanks to rapidly increasing computer power (often cloud-based), open source software , and a modern onslaught of data that could generate economic value if properly utilized, there are an endless stream of Big Data uses and applications.

2. Big data is too expensive! Implementing big data is a business decision not IT. This is a wonderful quote that wraps up the most important best practice for implementing Big Data. Analytics solutions are most successful when approached from business perspective and not from IT/Engineering end. IT needs to get away from model of Build it and they will come to Custom Order solutions to business needs. Use Agile and Iterative Approach to Implementation: Typically Big data

projects start with a specific use-case and specific large data set. Over the course of implementations, we have observed that organization needs evolve as they understand the data once they touch and feel and start harnessing its potential value. Use agile and iterative implementation techniques that deliver quick solutions based on current needs instead of a big bang application development. When it comes to the practicalities of big data analytics, best practice is to start small by identifying specific, high value opportunities, while not losing site of the big picture. We achieve these objectives with our big data framework: Think Big, Act Small A Big Data implementation, including the integration of various infrastructure components, can be a complex task that requires specialized skills. In addition, as Big Data plays an increasingly vital role in companies, it will become more important that the related infrastructure have the kind of performance, security and support seen in other critical business solutions. With these realities in mind, companies may want to consider packaged, engineered systems that provide ready-made Big Data platforms. In essence, the potential value of these engineered solutions comes down to reduced set-up times and streamlined ongoing managementfactors that can be vitally important in some situations. 3. Big Data is for Social Media Feeds and Sentiment Analysis Google and countless other companies are thriving at the epicenter of this data explosion, both enabling and taking advantage of it. In many ways, they represent models for any organization to more effectively use information to its own advantage. Simply put, if your organization needs to broadly analyze web traffic, IT system logs, customer sentiment, or any other type of digital shadows being created in record volumes each day, Big Data offers a way to do this.

4. Big data will turn an organization into a profitable analytics-driven machine: Big data provides precise, indisputable answers: Data science is a science, requiring rigor, review and repeatable research. And scientific assumptions are always open to challenge. Mims points to the risk that executives not trained in statistical or quantitative methods may be relying on algorithmic illusions, as expressed by MIT Media Lab visiting scholar Kate Crawford. Data is often flawed and biased.

5) Big data provides information you can bet your business on: If anything,

growing reliance on big data analytics is creating a corporate bubble of overconfidence. As Brian Bergstein of MIT Technology Review puts it: A future in which such intuitive knowledge about how to deploy resources is overruled by algorithms that can work only with hard data and cant, of course, account for the data they dont have While it might seem obvious that data, no matter how big, cannot perfectly represent life in all its complexity, information technology produces so much information that it is easy to forget just how much is missing. 6) Big data will turn an organization into a profitable analytics-driven machine: Technology and data alone will not fix a moribund, clueless corporate culture in anything, it will exacerbate it. Just as highquality film production and editing software is now available to anyone who wants it for a few hundred dollars, dont expect to see thousands of Steven Spielbergs to suddenly emerge it takes creativity, verve and keen business sense to pull together a masterful production. Organizations embracing data analytics need to be open to new approaches and ideas, and above all, have a single-minded dedication to what their customers want. Having the right data on them is only the beginning.

5.

Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if we changed the definition of big data. What if, instead of focusing of the proverbial 3 Vs (velocity, volume and variety), we tried something like this: 5 V's (velocity, volume, variety, Viscosity and Virality). The viscosity measures the resistance of flow of volume of data and Virality measures how quickly the data is shared) This definition might not be as glamorous as others, but it sure would be closer to the reality most companies are trying to get the grip with big data today.

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References : ###1. Doug Laney , Gartner's research report, 2001 http://blogs.gartner.com/doug-laney/files/2012/01/ad949-3D-DataManagement-Controlling-Data-Volume-Velocity-and-Variety.pdf ###2.Small and Midsize Companies Look to Make Big Gains With Big Data, According to Recent Poll Conducted on Behalf of SAP http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/news.epx?PressID=19188