Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data

List of Tables and Figures xv   Preface xvii    Acknowledgments xxiii    Introduction This Ain\'t Your Father\'s Data 1    Better Car Insurance through Data 2    Potholes and General Road Hazards 5    Recruiting and Retention 8    How Big is Big? The Size of Big Data 10    Why Now? Explaining the Big Data Revolution 12    Central Thesis of Book 22    Plan of Attack 24    Who Should Read This Book? 25    Summary 25    Notes 26    Chapter 1 Data 101 and the Data Deluge 29    The Beginnings: Structured Data 30    Structure This! Web 2.0 and the Arrival of Big Data 33    The Composition of Data: Then and Now 39    The Current State of the Data Union 41    The Enterprise and the Brave New Big Data World 43    Summary 46    Notes 47    Chapter 2 Demystifying Big Data 49    Characteristics of Big Data 50    The Anti-Definition: What Big Data Is Not 71    Summary 72    Notes 72    Chapter 3 The Elements of Persuasion: Big Data Techniques 77    The Big Overview 79    Statistical Techniques and Methods 80    Data Visualization 84    Automation 88    Semantics 93    Big Data and the Gang of Four 98    Predictive Analytics 100    Limitations of Big Data 105    Summary 106    Notes 107    Chapter 4 Big Data Solutions 111    Projects, Applications, and Platforms 114    Other Data Storage Solutions 121    Websites, Start-ups, and Web Services 128    Hardware Considerations 133    The Art and Science of Predictive Analytics 136    Summary 137    Notes 137    Chapter 5 Case Studies: The Big Rewards of Big Data 141    Quantcast: A Small Big Data Company 141    Explorys: The Human Case for Big Data 147    NASA: How Contests, Gamification, and Open Innovation    Enable Big Data 152    Summary 158    Notes 158    Chapter 6 Taking the Big Plunge 161    Before Starting 161    Starting the Journey 165    Avoiding the Big Pitfalls 174    Summary 181    Notes 181    Chapter 7 Big Data: Big Issues and Big Problems 183    Privacy: Big Data = Big Brother? 184    Big Security Concerns 188    Big, Pragmatic Issues 189    Summary 195    Notes 196    Chapter 8 Looking Forward: The Future of Big Data 197    Predicting Pregnancy 198    Big Data Is Here to Stay 200    Big Data Will Evolve 201    Projects and Movements 203    Big Data Will Only Get Bigger   and Smarter 205    The Internet of Things: The Move from Active to Passive Data    Generation 206    Big Data: No Longer a Big Luxury 211    Stasis Is Not an Option 212    Summary 213    Notes 214    Final Thoughts 217    Spreading the Big Data Gospel 219    Notes 220    Selected Bibliography 221    About the Author 223    Index 225