Big data examples, use cases and applications

A list with a few big data sources wouldn't be complete if it didn't mention Doug Laney, VP and Distinguished Analyst with Gartner's Chief Data Officer Research team. Laney is broadly known for his work on infonomics, the economics of information, that has gained - much deserved - visibility in recent years. He is also behind the original 3 Vs of Big Data. Laney had a presentation with 55 case studies. Nicole Laskowski at SearchCIO briefly described 10 of them.

Bernard Marr who wrote several books on, among others, data strategy and regularly writes about the topic on sites such as Forbes, gathered a list of 10 Big Data use cases (ways in which and purposes for which it is used, obviously often in combination with other technologies). Each of the 10 use cases mentions some examples of real-life applications from various companies across various business functions, industries, etc.

Learning and certification site Simplilearn has a program in Big Data and analytics. An article on how applications of Big Data drive industries nicely combines industry-specific challenges and applications across several verticals with many examples and ample links. Industries/verticals/applications include banking and securities; communications, media and entertainment; healthcare providers, education, manufacturing, government, energy, retail and more.

Well-known website developer website DZone also has a Big Data Zone you might want to check out. In this article you find examples in the retail industry, the medical industry, transportation and information technology. There are less real-life examples, but the article contains some good links, explanations of the links with artificial intelligence, machine learning and data learning and a different introduction. It is not the 'ultimate list' as the title says but still a good read.

Perhaps the European Commission is the last source that comes to mind when thinking about big data, but the site of the EC has a pretty good page on what it can do. Although the focus is obviously more European it is a good read for everyone and offers a nice entry to projects happening in a broad range of areas such as healthcare, data markets, transport, the reduction of energy consumption, agriculture, industrial impact, Open Data and data science skills. For each area there is an introduction of what big data can do, followed by some projects where you can also can find online courses and applications you might be interested in, regardless of where you live.

Data Science Series, an older (and not updated anymore) online meeting place for Big Data enthusiasts (from EMC), looking for the added value data science can provide businesses and government, has an article touting ten practical benefits. Topics including consumer interaction, product re-development, risk analysis, the creation of new revenue streams, the reduction of maintenance costs and smart cities to mention a few. One of the editors of the site was Belgium-based Peter Hinssen.