Big Data

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Big Data refers not only to the volume of data, but also to its variety (structured and unstructured, documents, files, audio, video, and streaming data, etc.), and the speed at which it is produced (velocity).[1]


According to Gartner , "Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and/or high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing that enable enhanced insight, decision making, and process automation."[2]


The Oxford English Dictionary refers to big data as "Computing data of a very large size, typically to the extent that its manipulation and management present significant logistical challenges." [3]

// Ecommerce stores use Big Data to help track user behaviour and target consumers with products that they may be interested in purchasing.

  1. DAMA-DMBOK2, Big Data and Data Science, pg. 497
  2. https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/big-data
  3. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/18833?redirectedFrom=Big+Data#eid301162177