BIG DATA FOR BIG IMPACT- WORLD’S TELECOMMUNICATION DAY

It is 17^th May. It’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.

17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.

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World Telecommunications Day celebrates the constant evolution of one of the most important factors of our lives: communication. The main goal of World Telecommunications Day (WTD) is to highlight the importance of communication and how information travels across the world. It also aims to increase awareness of how crucial communication is in our lives, and stimulate the development of technologies in the field. The World Telecommunications Day is in tight connections with the International Telegraph Union (ITU), the committee formed in 1865 to support the emerging communication methods of the time. ITU was present throughout all the great breakthroughs in communication – the invention of the telephone in 1876, the launch of the first satellite in 1957 and, ultimately, the birth of the Internet in the 60s. Even though The International Telegraph Union has since changed its name to International Telecommunications Union, it still remains the most important entity in the field of communications, thus remaining in the spotlight at World Telecommunications Day. World Telecommunication Day is celebrated marking the founding anniversary of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which was initiated in 1865. World Telecommunication Day is celebrated annually on 17 May. This day was first celebrated in 1969.

The theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2017 (WTISD-17), "Big Data for Big Impact".

The theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2017 (WTISD-17), “Big Data for Big Impact,” focuses on the power of Big Data for development and aims to explore how to turn imperfect, complex, often unstructured data into actionable information in a development context. The insight brought on by advanced analysis can strongly complement the evidence-based nature of decision-making that can be leveraged at national, regional and international levels to drive success towards attaining all 17 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. The theme for WTISD-17 is in line with ITU’s work highlighting the technological developments that have facilitated the emergence of Big Data, developing standards related to Big Data and identifying sources and uses of Big Data, including use of Big Data technologies for developing and monitoring improvements in information societies.

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What is BIG DATA?

Big Data is a broad term for data sets so large or complex that they are difficult to process using traditional data processing applications. Challenges include analysis, capture, curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualisation, and information privacy. Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data – so much, that 90% of data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. When data sets get so big that they cannot be analysed by traditional data processing application tools, it becomes known as ‘Big Data’. As different companies have varied ceilings on how much data they can handle, depending on their database management tools, there is no set level where data becomes ‘big’. This means that Big Data and analytics tend to go hand-in-hand, as without being able to analyse the data it becomes meaningless. Big data has had a long buildup. The term first popped up in an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers publication in 1997 discussing the challenge of working with blocks of information as large as 100 gigabytes. By the late 2000s, breakthroughs in storage capacity and computing power were leading to euphoric proclamations about the transformational potential of data and analytics in almost every aspect of business and society.  Yet, in 2016, the Economist Intelligence Unit is still pointing to the big data revolution as imminent: “Companies in all industries will strive to collect, interpret, and capitalize on vast amounts of new data. ‘Big data’ will be harnessed to understand consumers, improve healthcare, and cut firms’ energy bills.”

Analytics capabilities are now the basis of corporate competition. In many industries, a small group of technology leaders are consolidating major advantages. Daunted by the speed of technological change, many companies are hesitating. Still, others have invested in data systems but are struggling to realize the returns they expected. But continuing to lag behind leaves companies vulnerable to being disrupted.

The big data revolution is not just a story of Silicon Valley. It represents a major shift in the way business is done globally. Developing nations with fewer deeply entrenched legacy systems to overhaul can take advantage of this moment. Data and analytics could provide an injection of transparency and efficiency that spurs commerce, builds more inclusive economies, and makes government services more effective. The age of analytics is already beginning to unleash creative destruction—and that may open the door for young, tech-savvy companies from anywhere in the world to propel themselves into the ranks of the new global giants.

 
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