Will Google Become Self Aware?

If a tree falls in the forest without analytics...

How did the world ever tick along for millions of years without being critically monitored in every respect? We'll never know since it wasn't being recorded and there was no team in place analyzing it.  Big data is being captured like never before and it has the power to transform everything; from big things like our economy to small things like how we decide what to make for dinner.  We're all participating in big data collection.  It affects us and we in turn affect it. Here's a few trends in big data to watch out for, according to Doug Laney, research vice president for Gartner Research.

1. The IoT or internet of things. You contribute to the data stream in real time through your smart devices, and your smart devices take care of menial decisions for you automatically.  Hmmm, sounds like Skynet in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) if you ask me.  In terms of mapping, however, this is already happening through Google Maps.  Everyone with a smart phone in their pocket is a contributor to the live traffic to this pioneering crowd sourced application.

2. The time factor. It's the critical missing element that gives data context and proper meaning. Data brokers will manage contextual insights for companies in the future that pull real meaning from a spreadsheet of transaction details.  Time used to be challenging to incorporate into mapping applications, but no so anymore with digital advancements. Maps give that extra something to data, the sense of place, the "where" context.  I predict the location element will prove just as critical as the time element. Leaders of today are working towards full integration of who, why, how, what, when, and where to achieve big picture understanding of their businesses.

3. Demanding people.  Your customers want you to have systems in place to let technology take care of them through customer facing analytics and get specific feedback as they interact with your business and products.  You track them, and they want to reciprocate. This kind of engagement with customers wasn't possible a few years ago before location tracking, smart devices and social media.  Take advantage of this trend now.