Big Data leading innovation, SmartCon 2015

Bora
Arslan believes that big data is overused and exaggerated, creating
mistrust in people. (Images via Pamela Kesrouani)

Big data “will turn into the biggest catalyst for
change in the next 10 years,” said Analytics Center founder Hamit
Hamutcu.

Speaking at SmartCon 2015, held November 23 to 24 in Dubai, the
co-organizer of the conference was addressing the main talking
point of the two day event.

“Some polls even revealed that this [technology]
will have an influence almost as huge as the invention of the
internet.” Indeed, he revealed that big data had contributed, in
recent years, in changing three levels in our lives: workplace,
personal life and the country we live in.  
  

Ramez Shehadi, of Booz Allen Hamilton, agreed
with Hamutcu saying that big data “is everything, it’s like the
blood in the veins, where there’s no life without it.”

“In the past,” Shehadi said, “data was in
isolated channels and departments, and we weren’t able to recognize
the patterns and information and turn it into knowledge, but
technology has changed the situation.”

Hamutcu also explained that the challenges of
big data cannot be treated as singular entities, but rather as an
ecosystem that collaborates with a structure of support.

For some the term is overused though. So much so
that it creates fear in people, according to Bora
Arslan, analytics and innovation executive at financial comparison
site Comparethemarket.com.

For Arslan it is really a simple concept that
relies on the “three V’s” – volume, which increases
drastically; variety, because we’re all “online at the same time”;
and the “velocity” in which the data is transmitted.
  

So, big data changes everything, and in the
course of the events, speakers dealt with the sectors changed by
this filed, and they can be summarized in the following three
points:

Disruptive tech

Is big data the result of tech or vice versa?
This was a question posed during the conference.  “It’s a
cycle where big data drives innovative technology, and the latter
drives more data,” said Hamutcu.

Shehadi added that technology has allowed us to
analyze huge amounts of data and derive value from it.  In
short, both sides are equally important.

Tareq Abudawood, director of the National Centre
for Computation Technologies and Applied Mathematics (CTAM) at King
AbdulAziz city, spoke about how artificial intelligence can be a
catalyst for big data. In this way it is helping in the scanning of
breast cancer. “Thanks to extremely intelligent machines and
algorithms, we can detect, through X-rays, the kind of cancer and
how to treat it,” he said.

CEO and cofounder of The Keys
Academy, Ayesha Khanna noted how big data had
become a cornerstone in all new industries, allowing for the
creation of modern self-cleaning tools, regenerative material, or
even truck sensors that signal to drivers when their tires need
changing.   

“Tech has
changed Big Data” said Ramez Shehadi.

Digital marketing and advertising

Akanksha Goel, director at Socialize advertising
agency said that big data was something that advertising agencies
had not previously thought of.

According to Goel there are two kinds of
relevant data that can be gleaned for her sector. For example, the
data Mercedes Benz has about its clients, and then “earned data”,
that which is generated when users tweet about or share images of
their cars on social media.

In addition to that, she said that the challenge
for advertising agencies lies in collecting this data to utilize
their benefits to the max. As an example Goel also spoke of
the LeadIT program
launched by Facebook in an aim to fill the gap between marketing
and CRM.

Ahmad Bin
Humaidan talking about smart governance.

Smart cities and government

Big data also plays an important role in
building a smart cities, as discussed before on
Wamda. It allows for the creation of better
services to citizens to facilitate their jobs.

Dubai Smart
Government is an example of a player in the region
offering specialized services to its citizens. Their

DubaiNow app links users to any public
services, like paying their phone or electricity bill. They also
have the
SmartEmployee app targeting employees of the
public sector to create a customized
employee self-service menu with services such as leave approval and
payroll issues.

Ahmad bin Humaidan, director general Dubai Smart
Government, said that creating smart laws that
facilitate the using of big data to offer valuable services to
citizens is crucial. No doubt this technology has helped solve
various problems in many countries, like road traffic in

Singapore.

Big data is not just a temporary
trend, it’s the essence of the future, something that all Smartcon
participants agreed upon. Despite this, there are concerns about
the privacy and security of data, and this can be an obstacle. Many
are optimistic that the collective experiences, technology and
acquired skills are all factors that help us manage all
possibilities.

Starting in Istanbul and then moving onto
Johannesburg after Dubai Smartcon aims to become a platform to
different players, from individuals to companies and governments,
where tech and entrepreneurship can meet to allow the exchange of
ideas, and planning for future steps.