In our latest report, Finding New Efficiencies through Big Data Analysis, I had the opportunity to speak with EMC’s Audie Hittle, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Federal Market at EMC Isilon. Hittle states, “There is a growing recognition that we finally have the tools and are able to extract real insights and knowledge from the data, which is able to help support more efficient and informed decision-making. From a global agency, or even broad agency perspective, that is what is driving big data analysis.” The blog post below is an excerpt from the report, which identifies the new efficiencies found by leveraging big data analysis.
Government is in the midst of a transformation. As government is collecting, managing, and storing increasing volumes of data, agencies are challenged to find actionable insights from the tsunami of data they are collecting. With the explosion of data from social media, online transactions, and internal systems, government has more opportunities than ever before to transform agencies through big data analysis. The core challenge for agencies is taking the initial steps to understand the risks and challenges to fully leverage big data analysis.
As Hittle states, “We are only at the tip of the iceberg and I believe big data can be transformational.” Hittle’s statement could not be more poignant, as agencies are looking to streamline processes and identify new efficiencies. In this industry perspective, Hittle shares his expert insights on how agencies can leverage big data to improve government operations, service delivery and find new efficiencies with limited resources.
Big data is commonly defined using the three v’s: volume, velocity and variety of data. As more kinds of data are being developed, there are many different ways to look at how ‘big data’ can be defined. Big data should not be defined in terms of quantity or quality; rather, big data should be defined simply as using data in new ways and developing insights that were previously unavailable to agencies.
Hittle states, “Personally I like the definition that was crafted by one of our former Isilon CTO’s Paul Rutherford, who basically said that big data is a relative thing. An organization may not have 100 terabytes or 100 petabytes, but big data is something that currently is more than you can deal with as a person or organization.”
As Hittle described, identifying insights from data, regardless of size, is the common thread across government. Another trend is that when considering big data programs, what becomes readily clear is that big data analysis is part of a much larger strategy for government agencies. Simply, agencies cannot talk about big data analysis without considering the cloud and understanding new ways to store and manage data. Additionally, mobile is an essential tool when considering big data, as a way to help provide quick, easy and streamlined information to core stakeholders.
EMC Corporation, a global IT leader, enables the federal government to transform its operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, delivered in partnership with leading government contractors and federal systems integrators, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping federal IT departments to store, manage, protect, and analyze their most valuable asset—information—in a more agile, trusted, and cost-efficient way. Additional information can be found at www.EMC.com/federal.
