It’s not just about the data
The phrase “data is the new oil” accurately captures just how important data has become; the increasing availability of big data has only helped to stoke people’s excitement and enthusiasm. Back in 2001, industry analyst Doug Laney wrote the now-famous blog post that concentrated on the three “V”s of big data: volume, velocity, and variety.5
The ensuing debate over what exactly big data was (versus what it wasn’t) was soon taking up virtually as much bandwidth as the technology that supported it. Joining that debate, many vendors tried to add their own proprietary “V”s to the equation, but this only confused the market and stalled the adoption of the technology.
For their part, many businesses have remained mystified by this “magical technology” that some claimed was a cure-all for anything data-related. The simple truth, however, is this: data by itself might be interesting...