Foundations of Big Data for Business

This unit introduces the core concepts of big data and why it matters to businesses of all sizes, with emphasis on the Four Vs, common data sources (including sensors and public datasets), and the distinction between structured and unstructured data. Students will explore strategy, infrastructure trade-offs, required skills, and the data-to-insight lifecycle to prepare for hands-on analytics and implementation in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how big data creates value for small and large businesses by identifying the Four Vs, common drivers (e.g., sensors, GPS, activity logs, government data), and concrete business use cases
• Differentiate structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data and evaluate common sources (transactional systems, logs, APIs, smartphone sensors, Data.gov) for relevance to specific small business problems
• Evaluate infrastructure, tooling, and workforce considerations by comparing entry-level storage/processing options and skill needs to recommend an appropriate big data approach for a given small business scenario
• Apply the data-to-insight lifecycle by outlining steps to collect, clean, analyze, and deliver actionable insights and proposing methods to communicate and operationalize those insights for target stakeholders