That Book on Big Data: A One-Hour Intro by Morley Jonathan & Timberlake Bobby

Author:Morley, Jonathan & Timberlake, Bobby [Morley, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Producers and Consumers

In many cases, the producers and consumers of data are the same players; however, at least for the most sophisticated of firms, some entities stay discreetly on one side of the divide.

Some institutions generate large data sets as part of their mission, while others have expertise in analysis but no direct way to create the data they take as input. We’ll try to include a balance of each, but bear in mind that this intro can only hope to cover the tip of the iceberg, and countless firms are on a race to see what new areas of society and business can benefit from having big data tools directed their way.

Most of us are familiar at least to some degree with data generation and its usage by the largest consumer-facing tech firms, if only for reasons of privacy. However, there are many other sources and users of big data, from existing archives being examined in new ways, to incumbent firms leveraging their expertise, to startups helping others make sense of their own processes and systems.

Though the brand-name firms we’ll discuss later are some of the best-positioned due to the data generated on their platforms and the resources they have to make use of it, there are open data sources that companies and researchers can access, and key players exist, both large and small, who’ve been able to carve out a niche in harvesting or interpreting data.

Government and NGOs

Government and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are some of the most accessible sources for data, especially for those with a research, rather than commercial, data focus. The US Census Bureau and Social Security Administration have demographic data going back decades, much of it freely available for analysis and use. Other government institutions, including the Center for Disease Control, NASA, the NOAA, and the UK’s National Health Service, all provide massive data sets to the public.

Additionally, quasi-governmental and NGO organizations such as the World Health Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and CERN (mentioned earlier, the operators of the Large Hadron Collider) also allow access to their substantial collections for academic and collaborative purposes. Likewise, think tanks including the Pew Research Center, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Rand Corporation are among the dozens with the scale to generate and share data from surveys and other independent research.

On the consumption side, academia and other research-based arenas absolutely dominate. Most of the data generated is not directly monetizable, but by forming the basis for demographic trends, economic developments, and large-scale shifts in behavior, these data sets make their way into commercial models. For many, these data sets provide a great avenue to becoming familiar with large data sets without incurring a cost.

Heavy Industry

Industrial processes and sensors are the next major source of big data generation. Think planes, trains, and automobiles – although the latter can be anything from industrial fleets to huge mining and construction equipment. Key players here include Boeing, Airbus, GE, Honeywell, Caterpillar, Cummins, Komatsu, and Volvo.

Heavy industry is a particularly exciting area,

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