Big Data and Bigger Data, Little Data, Cloud, and Other Data

This chapter explores data of all types, but in particular, it views big data, cloud data and the emerging importance of streaming, geospatial and event-based messaging data. Big data was the rage for several years and the chapter explores the reasons behind this and the forms of big data. It also discusses recent moves away from some on-premise big data structures to offsite data held in the cloud. The chapter demonstrates the value of small data and note that it is not going away any time soon. It provides some context for different data forms—structured, unstructured and semi-structured. The chapter describes two forms of data that are receiving much more attention these days—“streaming data” and “event messaging data.” The popularity of analytics is driving much of the growth in these areas. There are various reports of who officially coined the term “Big Data” and of where it actually started.