Big Data seems to be all the “buzz” these days in the world of information management and business intelligence.    Of course, the first question everyone asks is “What is Big Data?” and I’ve heard various explanations all centred around the same theme… Sujal Patel explanation seems to best describe what Big Data in his talk at the 2010 CIO Forum Panel “Using Big Data to Drive Innovation”

His talk was titled, “The Era of On-Demand IT – Innovating to Catch the Big Data Wave.” Watch Video

“There is a huge amount of data out there. If you think about how we interact with media – cell phones, television, etc. – big data is all around us. It’s in the federal government in surveillance, security, border control, customs. … Everywhere you look there is big data.”

So what should we do with Big Data?
Don’t ignore it!  Doing so will most likely result in your students being left behind as others education agencies find ways to leverage it’s value.     Education Agencies have a tremendous opportunity to leverage big data.  Over the last 10 years there has been exceptional movement towards identification of students and the standardization of information exchange between schools, states and federal government.   Unlike  current initiatives in Health Care that are getting all the attention these days,  we believe education agencies (both state and local) are positioned very well to take advantage of big data in the following ways:

• Improved predictions in student success;  Technologies such as Hadoop have the potential for councilors to make near-real time predictions on student outcomes based on variables such as career path, graduation plan, location etc..
• Predicting student performance based on outside influences such as severe weather, labour relations, breaking news affecting students/schools, etc..
• Recommending post-secondary education choices;  Much like Amazon recommends products for you, schools have an opportunity to use  map-reduce algorithms found in Big Data technologies to narrow choices that will have the best possible long-term outcomes for the student economically.

How QC Technology Decisions can help realize value with Big Data?
Our Education Analytics Team members are recognized as experts in solution architecture, business intelligence, and enterprise systems development and implementation;  ready to lead complex implementations and deliver sustainable technical solutions for our customers.  They have led a number major IT projects such as configuring student information systems, web services integration, and business intelligence solutions for local and state agencies.

If you’re interested in Big Data for your organization and would like to talk to a representative please contact us today.

Additional Big Data Resources


The Atlantic
“The Big Data Boom Is the Innovation Story of Our Time”

Forbes
“Big Data Grows Up: Three Spaces to Watch Once the Hype Subsides”

Harvard Business Review
“Will Big Data Kill All But the Biggest Retailers?”

Mashable
“How Big Data Can Make Us Happier and Healthier”

McKinsey Global Institute
“Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity” 

MSN Business on Main
“How Small Businesses Are Innovating With ‘Big Data’”

New York Times Bits Blog
“Bizarre Insights From Big Data”

Pew Internet & American Life Project
“The Future of Big Data”

USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/12/04/big-data-explosion/1729535/

World Economic Forum
“Big Data, Big Impact: New Possibilities for International Development”

ZD Net
“Big Data: All You Need to Know”