Abstract

Big Data is a massive collection of data that continues to grow dramatically over time. It is a data set that is so huge and complicated that no standard data management technologies can effectively store or process it. Big data is similar to regular data, but it is much larger. “There's no doubt that the volumes of data presently available are vast, but that's not the essential element of this new data ecosystem,” says one expert. The term “big data” is now commonly used to refer to the application of predictive analytics. New correlations can be discovered by analyzing data sets to “identify economic trends, prevent diseases, combat crime, and so on.” In sectors such as Internet searches, financial technology, healthcare analytics, geographic information systems, urban informatics, and business informatics, scientists, corporate executives, medical practitioners, advertising, and governments all face challenges with enormous data sets.