What Start-Ups NEED to know about big data's velocity and variety!

 

In one of our previous blogs, Start Ups on a Budget explored the importance of big data for start-up companies and how valuable of an asset it can be. In a later blog we delved further into this topic by looking at the first of the 3 V's that define big data being volume. To show you how valuable big data can be for your start up business we will look at the other two Vs which are velocity and variety.

Velocity

So by now we all know what big data is and how it can manage large volumes of data which could not be done manuelly. This was the first V however what I find to be even more interesting is the second V which is velocity. Velocity relates to how the data is acquired in real time which is a tremendous attribute (Coforge, 2022). Think of a large company like Meta (previously known as Meta), Instagram or YouTube and the global reach each platform has. With such a large global reach each platform comes a higher volume of people creating a continous flow of data. Taking time differences into account it is hugely beneficial for a company to be able to have system in place that can handle this large volume of data from different time zones globally in real time.

For example, In a previous blog, We discussed Meta's big data software called Scuba and how the software enables them to discover bugs on Meta in real time and immediately work to solve the problem (Hewage et al, 2018, p. 94). Another example of a great use of big data's velocity is with  All start-up bussinesses are ofcourse in the begining stage very small when it comes to exposure. Your company will ofcourse not have the same reach as a Meta, Instagram or YouTube however what you can take from these examples is the benefit of having a system in place to notify you of issues your online website may be having. Regardless of reach, if your website whether it is a social media profile or a website online is not working then you are not providing potential customers a good service and you might aswell wish any hopes of growth goodbye.

Another example of the importance of Velocity can be seen on social media platform Twitter. We all know how big Twitter is similar to Meta and the global reach it has. When a user creates a tweet the system put in place by Twitter can then process that tweet and within seconds it is then uploaded to that very same users account (Kitchin and McArdle, 2016, p.7). Let's put this into perspective the sheer volume of tweets posted daily that twitters system has to process and on an individual case it only takes seconds. Big data as seen here ensuring that users of twitter have a smooth experience when generating content. 

Variety 

Ok so we now have volume and velocity covered let us now move on to the final V which is Variety. Variety relates to the stucture the data comes in, whether it structured, semi structured or not structured at all. What this essentially means is that big data can identify the type of data that is being processed. For example, is the data text, images, videos etc. What is also interesting is that big data software can identify where the traffic came from. For example, did a human generate the traffic or was it computeter generated aka a bot. Big data can then organise each data type into categories giving it structure. In this day and age we have all experienced fruadulents accounts created on social media. 

We have all received phising messages asking us for personal details amongst others and businesses are no different so having a safeguard in place like this is another valuable attribute as data created by bots is still data. From running my own business pages on the social media platform Instagram, I routinely get comments underneath my posts asking me if I am interested in a brand partnership. After clicking on that page it is very evident that the account isnt even real so multiple comments underneath your post may look impressive but it is important to be able to identify if these comments really provide any value. Big data's Variety organisation of data atleast gives you a helping hand when dealing with matters like this.

So now you know how valuable an asset big data is to you start up business. Now that you are familliar with the 3 V's it is time for you to fly the nest so to speak and use the software for your own start up business. For new readers, In our previous blog on big data we included a list of free big data softwares your company can use now. Here they are linked below. Let us know your experience with each software. We can't wait to see your success!

1. The first big data tool you can use for free is Apache Hadoop. This tool allows for processing of large amounts of data over a huge number of computers (Apache Hadoop, 2022).

 

Download link - https://hadoop.apache.org/

2. The second big data tool is HPCC Systems. HPCC systems works like Apache Hadoop as it gives you the ability to access and combine different types of data at a fast speed (HPCC Systems). If you do not like the interface of Apache Hadoop, you could instead use HPCC or the other way around. They both provide the same service and are both free.

Download Link - https://hpccsystems.com/

3. The third big data tool is Apache Storm. Apache storm like the others allows you to process large amounts of data while being quick and easy to use. The tool allows gives you real time analytics information.

Download Link - https://storm.apache.org/

Thanks for reading and follow our social media accounts below to keep up to date with the next release of our weekly blog which helps you digitally market your start up business.
Facebook Link - https://www.facebook.com/Marketing-Trends-for-Start-Ups-on-a-Budget-109366131666054
Instagram Link - https://www.instagram.com/marketingtrendsforstartups/
YouTube Link -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf33jKkYwiplFKNxVvSLS5w 

#bigdata #bigdatatools #freebigdatatools #apachehadoop #hpccsystems #apachestorm #startup #startupbusinesses #Startuper #thestartup #upstart 

Author is Jason Flood

Bibliography 

Apache Hadoop (2022) ‘Apache Hadoop’. Available at: https://hadoop.apache.org/ (Accessed: 08 February 2022).

Apache Storm (2022) ‘Why use Apache Storm’. Available at: https://storm.apache.org/ (Accessed: 08 February 2022).

Coforge (2017) 'UNDERSTANDING THE 3 VS OF BIG DATA – VOLUME, VELOCITY AND VARIETY.' Available at: https://www.coforge.com/salesforce/blog/data-analytics/understanding-the-3-vs-of-big-data-volume-velocity-and-variety/#:~:text=Variety%20in%20Big%20Data%20refers,%2C%20tweets%2C%20pictures%20%26%20videos. (Accessed: 08 September 2017)

HPCC systems (2022) ‘Why use HPCC systems’. Available at: https://hpccsystems.com/ (Accessed: 08 February 2022).

Kitchin, R. McArdle, G. (2016) 'What makes Big Data, Big Data? Exploring the ontological characteristics of 26 datasets'', Maynooth University, 3(1), pp. 1-10. (Accessed: 17 February 2016).