Big Data For Small Business For Dummies

Chapter 9

Building a Big Data Infrastructure

In This Chapter

Understanding the key infrastructure elements to invest in

Looking at data collection, storage, analysis and output options

Checking out some of the best software available

Big data can bring huge benefits to businesses, whether small, medium or large. However, as with any project, proper preparation and planning is essential, especially when it comes to infrastructure.

You’ll need to invest in some tools or services in order to achieve the ultimate objective: gleaning insights that lead to better decision making and improved performance.

Until recently it was hard for companies to get into big data without making heavy infrastructure investments – expensive data warehouses, software, analytic staff, and so on. But times have changed. Cloud computing in particular has opened up a lot of options for using big data, as it means businesses can tap into big data without having to invest in massive on-site storage facilities. Other developments, such as big data as a service and the ever-increasing range of big data providers, ...