Big Data is now ubiquitous. At its core, the Big Data phenomenon includes a realization, a vision, and a resulting implementation effort. There is now a widespread realization (indeed, one may even say that an inflection point has been reached) that data can hugely benefit applications in virtually all corners of society. This has given rise to the vision of a data-driven world, one in which organizations, governments, disciplines, communities, and individuals alike try to capture as much data as possible and then use knowledge gleaned from the data to make decisions. The race is therefore on to implement this vision, with needs for ever more tools to capture data, for distributed and parallel platforms to process huge volumes of data, and for analytics software to glean the available insights.

And there is more to come. Looking forward, just over the horizon, the Internet of Things is emerging. On this Internet, ordinary appliances such as refrigerators, thermostats, furnaces, and cars have sensors that allow them to generate torrents of data and to communicate with one another. Companies are eager to build this Internet, as it will allow them to offer high-margin, value-added services, projected to be worth billions of dollars. When this Internet takes hold, it will make the data-driven world even bigger and the data deluge even more ubiquitous.

Thus, it is no wonder that companies are racing to prepare themselves for the Big Data era and the coming Internet of Things. It is difficult, however, to know exactly where to start and what to do. This is where this book comes in. Written by Sudhi Sinha at Johnson Controls, with decades of experience in data management, this is a perfect starter book for any manager who wants to understand and explore Big Data. The book covers important challenges, ranging from building an overall strategy, to creating new opportunities, to managing projects, and to driving Big Data communications effectively throughout the entire organization. The book is peppered with concrete examples and practical tips, in an engaging presentation style. The Big Data field is evolving quickly, and this book serves as a quick and practical introduction to the field. I have found it very informative and interesting, and I believe that you will too.

AnHai Doan

Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Chief Scientist, WalmartLabs, USA