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What Is Big Data? 9Brought to You by the Letter V:How We Define Big DataTo keep things simple, we typically define Big Data using four Vs; namely,volume, variety, velocity, and veracity. We added the veracity characteristicrecently in response to the quality and source issues our clients began facingwith their Big Data initiatives. Some analysts include other V-based descriptors,such as variability and visibility, but we’ll leave those out of this discussion.No Question About It: Data Volumes Are on the RiseVolume is the obvious Big Data trait. At the start of this chapter we rhymedoff all kinds of voluminous statistics that do two things: go out of date themoment they are quoted and grow bigger! We can all relate to the cost ofhome storage; we can remember geeking out and bragging to our friendsabout our new 1TB drive we bought for $500; it’s now about $60; in a coupleof years, a consumer version will fit on your fingernail.The thing about Big Data and data volumes is that the language haschanged. Aggregation that used to be measured in petabytes (PB) is nowreferenced by a term that sounds as if it’s from a Star Wars movie: zettabytes(ZB). A zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes (GB), or a billion terabytes!Since we’ve already given you some great examples of the volume of datain the previous section, we’ll keep this section short and conclude by referencingthe world’s aggregate digital data growth rate. In 2009, the world hadabout 0.8ZB of data; in 2010, we crossed the 1ZB marker, and at the end of2011 that number was estimated to be 1.8ZB (we think 80 percent is quite thesignificant growth rate). Six or seven years from now, the number is estimated(and note that any future estimates in this book are out of date themoment we saved the draft, and on the low side for that matter) to be around35ZB, equivalent to about four trillion 8GB iPods! That number is astonishingconsidering it’s a low-sided estimate. Just as astounding are the challengesand opportunities that are associated with this amount of data.Variety Is the Spice of LifeThe variety characteristic of Big Data is really about trying to capture all of thedata that pertains to our decision-making process. Making sense out ofunstructured data, such as opinion and intent musings on Facebook, or analyzingimages, isn’t something that comes naturally for computers. However, this