Bigger data

The next sustainable fad has arrived – it is called "big data." Ever since computers and the internet arrived a few decades ago, the collection, analysis and storage of data has been an allure to almost everyone. In the 80s, Artificial Intelligence threatened to solve all problems faced by humans. Two decades long irrational exuberance in Enterprise Resource Planning systems and business analytics continue to burn holes in the budgets of companies who can afford it. Giants of the internet, googled their way to stardom with algorithms that understand who you are and what you are made off. The influx of jobless Physicists into Wall street, where data is cooked and served every microsecond, created yet another class of hedgers who got wedged by  volatility, later.

Now, big data has arrived. This is good news for both hardware vendors and software makers. The former can now focus on making bigger storage bins and faster processors and the later can create code that will create music from randomness. Such sustainable fads are actually good for the economy – they will likely create stimulus faster than just showering money from the clouds. In this case, they are indeed making clouds that can rain data at a moment's notice to anywhere. Just as in previous sustained fads, "big data," is also process oriented – in which the first step is to lay out how to collect and grow the data. The focus is on designing processes and constructs that can consume the big beast. How such a process will add value will be dealt with later. For now, consultants and the IT gurus cannot afford to think about that, for lack of time.

Data – the lifeblood of business – will grow again – uncontrollably, migrating into clouds and underground warehouses. One has to brace for the arrival of the next fad, when knowledge may finally migrate to the clouds as well – completing the process of making intelligence, truly artificial.

Ref: Flexibility : Flexible Companies for the Uncertain World

http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781439816325/