‘Big Data’ has a problem, and that problem is its name.
Dig deep into the big data ecosystem, or spend any time at all talking with its practitioners, and you should quickly start hitting the Vs. Initially Volume, Velocity and Variety, the Vs rapidly bred like rabbits. Now we have a plethora of new V-words, including Value, Veracity, and more. Every new presentation on big data, it seems, feels obligated to add a V to the pile.
But by latching onto the ‘big’ part of the name, and reinforcing that with the ‘volume’ V, we become distracted and run the risk of rapidly missing the point. The implication from a whole industry is that size matters. Bigger is better. If you don’t collect everything, you’re woefully out of touch. And if you’re not counting in petas, exas, zettas or yottas, how on earth do you live with the shame?