The data boom is a very real mark on the industry landscape, with the potential and hype surrounding big data expected to increase dramatically. But what can this data practically do?

Speakers at a Mobile World Congress conference session on Monday gave various insights into the discussion, with the conclusion being that, in both developed and developing markets, big data has the potential to be a lifesaver.

One of the big players in this sphere is IBM, with CTO Paul Bloom examining what its supercomputer, Watson, is now doing after it won a million dollars – which IBM gave to charity – beating two former Jeopardy! multi-champions in 2011.

The concept Bloom pushed was ‘cognitive computing’ – a ‘cross between super-computing, manual technology and neuroscience’. During its brief game show career, Bloom insisted Watson wasn’t connected to the Internet, yet had access to over 200 million pages of structured and unstructured data …