Business

Are you ready for Big Data? 10 overwhelming facts everyone must read

On average, Facebook users send 31.25 million messages and view 2.77 million videos every minute

Sumayia Asif September 30, 2015

PHOTO: FORDFOUNDATION

Big data is essentially high volume, high speed, high variety data, which we now deal with on a daily basis; data so high in volume that it demands new forms of information processing.

‘Big data is being generated by everything around us at all times’ explains IBM. ‘Every digital process and social media exchange produces it. Systems, sensors and mobile devices transmit it. Big data is arriving from multiple sources at an alarming velocity, volume and variety.’

Read: For a better tomorrow: Education, technology key to transform economy: experts

According to Forbes, we are at the beginning of a revolution that will impact ‘every business and every life on the planet’.

However, many seem to be oblivious to the imminent data storm, but Big data can no longer be ignored. Following are ten facts to bring you up to date with the phenomenon that is Big data.

1. A full 90% of all the data in the world has been generated over the last two years alone

2. By the year 2020 about 1.7 megabytes of new information will be produced every second for every human being

3. On average, Facebook users send 31.25 million messages and view 2.77 million videos every minute

4. In 2015, 1 trillion photos will be taken and billions of them will be shared online. And by 2017, nearly 80% of all photos will be taken on smart phones

5. By 2020, we will have over 6.1 billion smartphone users globally; surpassing basic fixed line subscriptions

6. Big data has been used to predict crime by the LAPD

7. Nearly 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute and it would take you around 15 years to watch every video uploaded by users in one day

8. In the United States, The White House has already invested more than $200 million in big data projects

9. Not surprisingly, the largest Big data company in the world is Google

10. And finally, click here so you can see for yourself!

COMMENTS (3)

Abdul Samad | 9 years ago | Reply @Hasan: I am preparing presentation on "Big Data" can you help me ?

Hasan | 9 years ago | Reply As someone that works in Big Data - this is not Big Data. Please stop spreading a hype that has little relevance to the actual concept of 'big data'. Big data speaks about improving the existing technology that was used for traditionally structured data warehouses and providing greater functionality and improvements to end-user and developers to query data. Inherently, it relies on organisations understanding what they collect, how they analyse and the means to visualise the data in a coherent manner for decision support. A series of random performance figures and information doesn't constitute big data in any shape or form. What you've tried to describe is the Internet of Things - where digital devices that collect analog and digital devices can collect information. What is done with the actual data is a whole separate concept.

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