https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Smart Cities & Technology


Article

Big Data in Real Life

Big Data in Real Life

Following is the second part in five-part series on Big Data that will discuss Big Data’s uses in government, government policies and compliance rules and Big Data’s future.
  • Written by Rod Trent
  • 10th November 2014

Following is the second part in five-part series on Big Data that will discuss Big Data’s uses in government, government policies and compliance rules and Big Data’s future.

In my last article, I took a high level approach to Big Data, offering a brief history and then explaining how the concept is continually expanding. As I already noted, the term Big Data effectively fulfills the definition and is, in fact, BIG DATA.

But, to truly get the most comprehensive understanding about what Big Data can be used for, it’s probably best to highlight real-world use cases. In this way, you’ll get to see it in action and start to come up with your own ideas on how to make it work for you and your organization.

Big Data and Weather Forecasting

Weather companies have sensors strewn out across the landscape that capture environment information to help to provide better forecasts and even up-to-the-minute storm reporting. The data collected from these sensors is very much part of Big Data, but truly even with this fantastic technology, weather forecasting is still very much guesswork. Things have definitely gotten better, but it’s not perfect.

Do you realize how often general Internet patrons talk about the weather? If you watch social networks like Twitter and Facebook, some of the first and last comments of the day are about the weather. And, even during the day, you’ll see announcements that “it’s raining” or “wow, what a nice sunny day!”

But combining weather sensor information with real-time, community-sourced commenting, weather companies are hoping to turn weather forecasting into a highly accurate discipline.

Big Data and Healthcare

There’s so much health information that has been, and still is, collected about each and every person on the planet. From the time a person is born on through adulthood and even death, when an individual visits a hospital, doctor, or dentist, information is gathered and stored – somewhere. As I talked about in the last article in this series, the unfortunate thing is that a lot of times this information is stored in different locations and in different formats.

By using analytics with Big Data, the healthcare industry hopes to provide better, more informed services for everyone. By keeping healthcare history on tap and accessible at a moment’s notice, patients can be served quicker.

In addition, by combining healthcare information with community-sourced content (Twitter/Facebook), healthcare organizations such as the CDC can accurately identify and predict outbreaks (think Ebola).

Big Data and Retail

The retail industry is looking to harness Big Data analytics for a number of reasons. By combining location sales information with personal information, retail outlets can guarantee the proper stocking levels to ensure just the right amount of product is available. Additionally, this allow the business to save money from over-stocking.

Another area important to retail businesses that can be solved by Big Data is to accurately track shopping habits to make the shopping experience more personal, improve customer satisfaction and retain loyal customers.

But, even more important is tracking customer sentiment. If the customer is happy, the company knows its actions are on track. If customer sentiment is low, the company can immediately change course and improve conditions.

Again, by combining known forms of data storage with social network activity, retail companies can become highly agile. The retail sector is one of the most competitive industries and the companies that can effectively take full advantage of Big Data analytics will have the competitive edge.

These are just a few areas where expertise in Big Data is being sought now, but should give you some concrete ideas on the potential for this industry. Big Data will touch just about every industry and in every industry sector in the next few years.

In next week’s article, I’ll focus solely on Big Data in Government, covering policies, mandates, and potential.

Rod Trent is the Engagement Director for the Penton Technology Group and the Managing Editor for American City & County sister brands, Windows IT Pro, SQL Server Pro, SharePoint Pro, Dev Pro, Power IT Pro, WinSuperSite and myITforum.com. He is a leading expert on Microsoft System Center and Cloud technologies and has more than 25 years of IT experience. Rod has written many books, thousands of articles, and speaks at various conferences and user groups. His professional focus is evangelizing technical community on the web and in person. Rod was a Microsoft MVP for 10 years and is a charter member of the Dell TechCenter Rockstar program.

Tags: Smart Cities & Technology Article

Most Recent


  • artificial intelligence
    Artificial intelligence for cities and counties
    It appears that artificial intelligence (AI) is everything, everywhere and in every product the vendor community would have us buy. However, despite the hype, few dismiss it as just another high-tech fad. Indeed, some believe it is the third (or fourth) wave, depending on how one is counting in the ever-evolving digital age. As early […]
  • dashboards
    Dashboards and software help simplify financial funding and reporting for cities and counties
    Governments are streamlining management of federal funds through technology, says Mike Bell, CEO of Envisio, which provides public dashboards, analytics and performance management software. About 150 local government, education and nonprofit organizations use his firm’s solutions to manage their strategic plans, improve performance and report on results. Envisio is helping local government agencies to satisfy […]
  • traffic
    Reimagining how cities can leverage holistic platforms for urban mobility solutions
    When it comes to designing transit and transportation solutions that reduce traffic congestion and improve on-time arrival rates, we seem to have a problem. It seems we are focused on all the wrong things. It’s not all about building a better vehicle, or the technology that is used inside the vehicle. And it’s not about […]
  • data
    Data: Your most overlooked asset
    If asked to think of a community’s most important assets, many would likely start by naming road networks, bridges, buildings, or possibly even transit and sanitary systems. But would data ever come to mind? As the foundation of everything, data is a vital asset—especially for public sector organizations. In order to have confidence in the […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • North Texas alliance partners with Marketplace.city on smart government solutions
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Today’s infrastructure needs greater than roads and bridges - It’s time to face our digital connectiveness

White papers


7 Resources to Level-up Your Federal Grants Administration and Compliance

5th September 2023

Elevator Phone Line Replacement Strategy | A Guide to Reliable, Code-Compliant Solutions

29th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing Report: The Bright Future of Public Procurement

23rd August 2023
view all

Webinars


Grant Preparedness: Unlocking Funding Opportunities for Your Success

10th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing: Taking Local Governments into a Bright Future

1st August 2023

Stop Playing with Fire: How to Manage Infrastructure Asset Risk So You Know You’re Covered

20th June 2023
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: Hottest temperatures recorded in American cities during July

12th September 2023

The top 10 Asthma Capitals for 2023

7th September 2023

U.S. cities with the cleanest air from latest “State of the Air” report

5th September 2023
view all

Twitter


Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.