Big Data Is a Big Tease without Fast Databases

You’ve probably heard a lot about “big data.” Big data is real, it’s here to stay, and it’s getting bigger.

You’ve probably heard a lot about “big data.” To some people, big data is like a Kardashian: famous for being famous. But big data is real, it’s here to stay, and it’s getting bigger.

Consider this:

• In 2012, the amount of information stored worldwide exceeded 2.8 zettabytes (1 zettabyte equals 1,000,000 terabytes). In 2020 the total amount stored is expected to be 50 times larger than today.


• It is estimated that 33% of this information could be useful if appropriately tagged and analyzed, but the amount actually analyzed is only 0.5%.¹

As a recent article in Harvard Magazine notes: “Data now stream from daily life: from phones and credit cards and televisions and computers; from the infrastructure of cities; from sensor-equipped buildings, trains, buses, planes, bridges, and factories. The data flow so fast that the total accumulation of the past two years - a zettabyte - dwarfs the prior record of human civilization. … But it is not the quantity of data that is revolutionary. ‘The big data revolution is that now we can do something with the data.’”²

When a mass of data can be properly organized, it transforms into information, and information properly assimilated becomes knowledge, and knowledge effectively used becomes wisdom.3 This, in turn, gives an organization the power to do things like:

• Determine root causes of failures, issues, and defects in near-real time, potentially saving billions of dollars annually.


• Optimize routes for many thousands of package delivery vehicles while they are on the road.


• Analyze millions of SKUs to determine prices that maximize profit and clear inventory.


• Generate retail coupons at the point of sale based on the customer's current and past purchases.


• Send tailored recommendations to mobile devices while customers are in the right area to take advantage of offers.


• Recalculate entire risk portfolios in minutes.


• Quickly identify customers who matter the most.



• Use clickstream analysis and data mining to detect fraudulent behavior.⁴

It’s not hard to see how most any organization can use big data to gain a competitive advantage - provided your databases are ready, optimized, and up to the challenge. And if your databases aren’t up to the challenge, be assured that your competitors are working overtime to make sure their databases are, because data is emerging as the world’s newest resource for competitive advantage. That’s why it’s truer than ever that if your database is sick, your organization is unhealthy, your customers are unhappy, and your reputation suffers.

In today’s competitive, cost-conscious world, the first step to winning with big data is making sure you’re getting the most out of the equipment you already have. Our patented, award-winning pureFeat™ suite of software helps you maximize the performance of your IBM DB2 LUW databases, allowing you to do more with what you already have. If you’d like to learn more about how we helped a leading retailer quadruple the speed of their existing SAP database, allowing them to add their Canadian data and users without hardware and license upgrades, click here.

In my next blog, I’m going to talk about how one of our customers is using our performance optimization software to win with big data.

What You Must Know

Big Data is a big mess without fast databases.

What would your business be like if it ran 4x faster? We'll present a methodology and key metrics to help you achieve rapid, measurable, and significant performance gains in your DB2 LUW databases in minutes! Register Now for a Free Webinar.

¹ http://bcove.me/1te37l04

² http://harvardmagazine.com/2014/03/why-big-data-is-a-big-deal

³ http://bcove.me/1te37l04

⁴ http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html

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