The larging-up of big data

The term 'big data' has been getting big much exposure in IT circles over the last year or two, on a scale that is bound to cause seasoned industry-watchers to sniff the air for the familiar aroma of industry hyperbole. The implication is that the volume of electronic information being generated and stored is now so large that existing database systems are no longer able to handle it. It is certainly true that the world is generating data on an unprecedented scale, and it is going to escalate as trends such as machine-to-machine applications roll-out. Maintaining separate storage systems to handle all those different forms of data is generally inefficient, particularly if an individual or organization wants to exploit all of the information it stores to use or for meaningful insight, and to do that fast enough to make the most of any business opportunity the exercise might subsequently provide.