Four Rules for Data Success - Data Just Right: Introduction to Large-Scale Data and Analytics - page 3

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Four Rules for Data Success
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation
applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency.
The second is that automation applied to an inefficient
operation will magnify the inefficiency.
—Bill Gates
T he software that you use creates and processes data, and this data can provide value
in a variety of ways. Insights gleaned from this data can be used to streamline deci-
sion making. Statistical analysis may help to drive research or inform policy. Real-time
analysis can be used to identify inefficiencies in product development. In some cases,
analytics created from the data, or even the data itself, can be offered as a product.
Studies have shown that organizations that use rigorous data analysis (when they
do so effectively) to drive decision making can be more productive than those that do
not. 1 What separates the successful organizations from the ones that don't have a data-
driven plan?
Database technology is a fast-moving field filled with innovations. This chapter will
describe the current state of the field, and provide the basic guidelines that inform the
use cases featured throughout the rest of this topic.
When Data Became a BIG Deal
Computers fundamentally provide the ability to define logical operations that act
upon stored data, and digital data management has always been a cornerstone of digital
computing. However, the volume of digital data available has never been greater than
at the very moment you finish this sentence. And in the time it takes you to read this
sentence, terabytes of data (and possibly quite a lot more) have just been generated by
computer systems around the world. If data has always been a central part of comput-
ing, what makes Big Data such a big deal now? The answer: accessibility.