A great presentation by +Martin Fowler from +ThoughtWorks for the non-technical user.  Covers a number of Big Data aspects, including challenges and potential solutions.

A "must see" if your organisation is starting on the Big Data path or you want to understand what Big Data can do for you.

Access the full presentation here.

IBM Taps Big Data for Security

In the last few years IBM has been putting its focus in security on Big Data.  By collecting and correlating large amounts of data from an enterprise IBM is looking to identify patterns hidden in large volumes of data.

According to Kevin Skapinetz the idea is to "squeeze every last drip of information about attacks from your data".

Focusing on Big Data also allows IBM adopt a more proactive approach to security. According to Skapinetz traditional approach to security is no longer enough. Looking actively for attackers, instead of just building bigger walls fits with the time-honoured view that "attack is the best form of defence".

Full article by +Sean Michael Kerner on +eSecurity Planet can be accessed here.

How DHL’s Big Data Boosts Performance

DHL built an in-house Big Data solution to become more competitive and address some challenges.

According to Graeme Aitkin, VP of Business Controlling at  +DHL, the company couldn't produce a standard cost of shipment or pickup and couldn't distinguish fixed and variable costs.

Now, INSIGHT, the costing system built to analyse company data produces cost and profitability for every shipment on DHL's network.

Full article by Taylor Provost on CFO.com can be accessed here.

Mindfulness in legal practice ...

Mindfulness in legal practice going mainstream (Magazine) ABA Journal http://j.mp/UDdiAG v @danlukasik @recessguy pic.twitter.

Posted by +Kevin McKeown on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/kevinmckeown/status/296675337784414209/photo/1

Three Surprising Secrets to Moving People

All leaders move people. Moving people begins when you understand them, not when they understand you.  Daniel Pink believes the ability to move people begins with attunement.



http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/three-powerful-secrets-to-moving-people/

CIOs Overcome Shortage of Business Analytics Talent

Historical reports alone aren't sufficient anymore for making corporate decisions.  Executives wants current and future trends to be identified by Business Intelligence professionals.  And, this means that just running a data warehouse or building a dashboard is not sufficient anymore.

A report by the +McKinsey Global Institute  predicts that by 2018 US alone could lack 140,000 to 190,000 workers with the required analytical skills.

And, according to Boris Evelson at +Forrester Research , "Every single client I talk to tells me they are struggling with finding and retaining Business Intelligence talent".

IT leaders are thinking how to get the people now as well as develop the technologists with right skills for the future.


Read the full article by Bob Violino on CIO.com here.

Why you should jump into big data

Whether they like it or not, many companies are part of the Big Data trend, with volumes of data exploding into terabytes, petabytes and beyond.  And, one way to deal with this challenge is deploy tools specifically built for this purpose.  

How and where to start though is a completely different question.  And, it depends on the problems being solved, such as:

1. I don't want to pay [Vendor X] more money

2. I can't get what I want from Business Intelligence

3. I can't move fast enough

Read the full article by +Eric Knorr on +InfoWorld here.

United States of America’s CTO Wants You to Kick Ass with Big Data

It's great to see the US Government making lots of datasets publicly available.  And, as the article states, quoting Todd Park - United States of America's CTO, ..." the government want entrepreneurs to use the free data to “… kick ass and create useful services for people…”".

Hopefully, other governments will follow suit soon.  Implications for healhcare, finance, etc. are enormous.

Read the full article TCELab here.

A Public-Private Partnership Turns San Francisco Police Into High-Tech Super Cops

San Francisco Police Department have developed a Web-based data warehouse containing 24 years worth of data - text, photos, video, etc.

The Department is also in the process of rolling out a first-of-its-kind app that allows officers to access the warehouse using tables and smartphones, including filing reports. According to Police Chief Greg Suhr speaking about a graduating class of the Police Academy, "These officers with never know a desktop computer.  They will only know mobile technology".

Read the full article by Dave Einstein on +Forbes here.

So What If You Have Big Data? Without Data-Driven Processes And Products, It’s Useless

Mountains of data, or Big Data, on their own are not very useful. The key here is leveraging Big Data better than the competition.  And, there are two main ways to achieve this: through data-driven processes or through data-driven products.

To become a data-driven organisation delivering exceptional value the steps to follow are these:

- capture everything centrally;

- get a data scientist;

- productize your data.

Read the full article from +John De Goes on +TechCrunch here.