Big Data isn't a modern concept. It has been around since ancient times. So what can modernity learn from antiquity? What role does Big Data play in the world today?

1. BIG DATA THEN AND
NOW
What we can learn from the ancients

2. Big Data in the Ancient World
■ The library at Alexandria
was the center of Big
Data in the ancient world
■ Created in 300 BC by
Ptolemy II of Egypt
■ People from around the
world would gather and
spend their entire lives
studying

3. The Ancients are Relevant Today
■ The Ancients used Big Data
to make discoveries that
changed the world
■ Euclid’s Geometry is taught
even today
■ Eratosthenes, using the
shadow of the sun at the
summer solstice, calculated
the circumference of the
earth
■ They knew the importance
of Big Data to discover ‘Big
Answers’

4. 'Big Questions' of Today
■ Big Data is used even today
to answer some pressing
questions
■ What are the building
blocks of the Universe?
■ Can genomics help improve
the health of mankind?
■ What is the future of our
planet?
■ Can we solve world
hunger?
■ Can we survive climate
change?

5. Big Data in the 21st Century
■ Institutions even today gather
information on a large scale
■ Similar to a technologically
advanced library at Alexandria
■ The data is then used by
researchers in their projects to
analyze ‘Big Questions’
■ This often leads to
breakthroughs
■ Big Data is as important now
as it was in the ancient world

6. Big Data Institutions – CERN
■ The European Organization
for Nuclear Research
■ CERN made the World
Wide Web available to all
of humanity
■ The Large Hadron Collider
collects data on a massive
scale — one experiment
can provide data for more
than 140 countries to study

7. Big Data Institutions – ExAC
■ Exome Aggregation
Consortium constitutes an
organization of scientists
studying genes sequencing
data
■ Aims to identify genetic
mutations and improve cures
and disease prevention
■ DNA sequencing data from
more than 60,000 people
facilitates the study of genetic
variation
■ Data and services available to
variety of projects and public

8. Big Data Institutions – NERSC
■ National Energy Research
Scientific Computing Center
■ A high performance computer
facility for scientific research
■ It is the primary scientific
computing facility for
the departments of science
and energy in the US
■ Facilitates the study of more
than 6000 scientists
researching a variety of ‘Big
Questions’

9. Big Data Institutions – Brookings
■ More than a century old think
tank with one of the largest
budgets
■ Has more than 300 leading
experts all over the world
■ Three broad goals
■ Strengthen American
democracy
■ Foster the economic and
social welfare, security, and
opportunity of all Americans
■ Secure a more open, safe,
prosperous, and cooperative
international system

10. Big Data in Finance
■ Financial institutions are
constantly looking for
information advantage
■ 2.5 quintillion bytes of data
are created on a daily basis
■ It helps them develop
■ Customer insight
■ High-frequency trading
■ Risk management
■ Regulatory compliance
■ Credit worthiness
■ Commodity trading

11. Big Data in Finance
■ Facts and Figures
■ 41% of banks use advanced
Big Data tools
■ 71% of financial institutions
believe Big Data gives them
a competitive edge
■ 37% have implemented Big
Data technology for
operations and customer
efficiency
■ 60% get an additional
return on data assets

12. Big Data in Retail
■ Big Data analytics in retail
process
■ Predicting trends
■ Forecasting demand
■ Optimizing pricing
■ Personalize shopping
experiences
■ Retailers are embracing a
‘data-first’ action plan
■ Helps them understand
and match a customer to
the right product

13. Big Data in Retail
■ Use Cases
■ eBay
■ Handles extreme data velocity: 6 billion writes and 5 billion reads
everyday
■ Amount of data stored: 250 TBs
■ Groupon
■ Relies on information from customers and vendors thus making
daily seamless deal transactions
■ Declared ‘The fastest growing company ever’ by Forbes magazine
■ Amazon
■ One of the best models of ecommerce Big Data utilization
■ Data collected from 800,000 sellers and 40+ million monthly visitors

14. Big Data in the Automotive Industry
■ Big Data sources for this
industry
■ Sensors
■ Machines
■ Social media
■ Driver behavior

15. Big Data in the Automotive Industry
■ Big Data has helped the industry
■ Increase customer loyalty
■ Improve vehicular performance and maintenance
■ Reduce warranty costs
■ Improve dealer performance
■ Also in the works
■ Usage-based Insurance aligns driving behavior with premium
rates
■ Smart phones can now read mileage and driving behavior
using apps

16. Big Data in the Automotive Industry
■ General Motors
■ Developed new Big Data
centers with almost 37,000
servers
■ Plans to spend $ 546
million on expanding their
new data centers with a
focus on
■ Dealership Performance
■ Personalized Marketing
■ Telematics and Connected
Smart Cars

17. The Future of Big Data
■ Data volumes will continue to expand
■ Data analytics will emerge strongly, the growth of
Microsoft and Salesforce stand as proof
■ Machine Learning, a key strategy for data preparation
and predictive analysis
■ A chief data officer will soon become a standard and
aspirational post
■ Data-as-a-service business will soon spread

18. Conclusion
■ All the information in the
‘Data Lake’ of antiquity
would now fit in an
underwhelming 500 GB
■ Information more durable
and easily disseminated
today
■ The goal remains the same
– to amass and analyze
data so that discoveries
and growth can flourish

19. More Information
■ If you have an idea or want to innovate, contact us on:
www.extentia.com/contact-us
■ Write to inquiries(at)extentia.com or
call +91 20 6728 5200 (India)/+1-408-627-4094 (United States)