Date: 28 Nov 2013

Big Data seems to be the latest buzzword that is trending. The term has been around for a while but now, the largest corporations are promoting Big Data products and services very strongly, so something big is on the horizon. Right now, it may look like a load of hype, but scratching beneath the surface, it has the potential to affect every person in society and there's no getting away from it. It may be only a matter of time before your organisation progresses projects and initiatives related to 'big data' (if this isn't happening already).

In this webinar, Paul Gerrard of Gerrard Consulting will ask What is all the fuss about? He'll explain that big Data isn't really just about 'big'. Depending on who you ask, mnemonics "V3" or "V4" summarise it well.

  • Volume - is the quantity - and it's big.
  • Velocity - the rate of arrival/capture of data, and that's big too.
  • Variety - the sheer variety of data and formats to be used.
  • Veracity - the accuracy, truth or value of that data.

Volume and velocity are driving the technical aspects - relational is out, NoSQL (not only SQL) is in and the relational data skills out there are not enough. Variety and veracity are the real challenges: device instrumentation, social feeds, government, location, financial, voice, image and video and all the data captured by any (and I mean ANY) device that we use or encounter or that monitors us and the gadgets we use are being stored, because some day, it might be useful to a data analyst working for a start-up, a corporate or our government.

If you don't know anything about Big Data, this session will provide a basic introduction to what's happening out there, right now.

Paul Gerrard is a consultant, teacher, author, webmaster, programmer, tester, conference speaker, rowing coach and a publisher. He has conducted consulting assignments in all aspects of software testing and quality assurance, specialising in test assurance. He has presented keynote talks and tutorials at testing conferences across Europe, the USA, Australia, South Africa and occasionally won awards for them. Educated at the universities of Oxford and Imperial College London, in 2010, Paul won the Eurostar European Testing excellence Award. In 2012, with Susan Windsor, Paul co-authored "The Business Story Pocketbook". He is Principal of Gerrard Consulting Limited and is the host of the UK Test Management Forum and a UK Business Analysis Forum.


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