Moves are afoot to turn the reams of collected data in the world into information that helps improve services

EMC is working harder than most to save “big data” from becoming another phrase in the lexicon of IT buzz words, and will bombard you with statistics to put the explosion of electronic information in context.

They will tell you that it took until 2003 to create the first five exabytes of data (five billion gigabytes); now we do it every two days. Or point out that a child born today will generate more information in one year than all the information held in the Smithsonian Institute.

And did you know that 90 per cent of all of the information in the world today was created in the last two years?

Mind-boggling figures catch the eye, but it’s what to do with all the information that is starting to catch peoples imagination. “It’s about discovering a pattern within the data and learning from it,” said Adrian McDonald, president of EMC in Europe.

“It’s about using technology to turn data into information and real insights that have the potential to bring incremental change to the citizens of the world.”

In a bid to move the big data discussion away from big brother and big business connotations, EMC has commissioned Rick Smolan, the man behind global crowd-sourcing projects like “Day in the life”, to create the “The Human Face of Big Data”. He describes the phenomena as like watching the world develop a central nervous system.

The global project will draw on data collected by millions of sensors, satellites, RFID tags, and GPS-enabled cameras and smartphones. Elephant seals equipped with antennas on their heads will be used to map the oceans; an SMS system will be seen preventing the sale of counterfeit medicines in Ghana.

Next year there will be a book and a documentary, but right now there is a questionnaire in the form of a downloadable app that people are invited to fill in anonymously. As well as 50 questions in eight languages, you can opt to let the sensors on your smartphone relay your movements for a day, or complete the questions and search out a doppelganger in the world who thinks the same way about life as you.

Up to the launch in London last month, just over 100,000 people had taken part and the first feedback was visible on-screen in real time, sliced and diced to show us, for example, what people believe happens when we die – “Nothing. Game over” was top at the time.

It’s no secret that some businesses are already experts at mining data for commercial advantage and concerns that big data equals big brother are never going to go away, but it’s not all bad news. EMC used the London event as a platform for organisations that delve into data for more humanitarian projects, echoing the “Human Face” agenda.

Jake Porway is a data analyst who had grown tired of “working on apps that make comfortable lives ever so slightly more comfortable”. His not-for-profit company, DataKind, brings data scientists together with social organisations “for the service of humanity”, as the company’s catchphrase puts it.

He describes how they work with diverse organisations, from healthcare to public transport, repurposing reams of collected data into accessible information that can help improve services.

“Data has been described as the new oil, but it’s crude oil and has to be refined to increase the statistical literacy of the population,” he said.

Passionate about his mission, Porway envisages a world where data is a tool to spark change from the ground up, rather something that comes top-down from governments and big business. He warns against those that want to keep information secret and mysterious, the people that make big data synonymous with big brother.

Highlighting the diversity of data and the benefits it can deliver, US company aWhere showcased a project aimed at eradicating malaria. In this instance, the data comes from information embedded in pixels in satellite photographs.

“Pixels are a data source in an emerging science. Our technology can use them to identify the spectral signature of water that encourages mosquito habitats,” explained Dave Lundberg, chief operations officer.

Analysis that would take weeks or even months for people on the ground is carried out in hours with the location intelligence platform, which extracts actionable insights from agricultural, environmental and public health data. “Data in itself isn’t interesting – it’s the insight that’s valuable. The context lets you understand cause and then you can make informed decisions,” he said.

Like Porway, Lundberg advocates for the democratisation of data, turning it into national asset that will help developing nations achieve sustainability more quickly through better local intelligence.

What happens next is likely to be even more spectacular. The smartphone is just the first of a new wave of personal devices that will be used for metering, monitoring and remote management of everything from personal healthcare to security. Smart sensors will proliferate, all of them generating data.

The impact of all of this is only just starting to become apparent, said EMC’s Adrian McDonald.

“It’s all possible because of changes in the raw technology and the ability to analyse data. Two to five years ago it just wasn’t available,” he said. “It has the potential to be as significant as the industrial revolution.”

You can take part in The Human Face of Big Data by downloading the app (available for iOS and Android) at thehumanfaceofbig data.com. The survey will run until November 20th. You must be over 18 to take part.

The business case taking advantage of big data

Research firm Nucleus claims that public and private sector organisations that leverage technology to examine large and complex data sets will see a return on investment of 241 per cent. Analysing internal data, for example, will help improve business processes, and by scouring large external data sources, such as social media sites, they will be able to identify factors that may impact on their success.

An EMC survey of senior UK management suggests there is still some confusion about defining and taking advantage of big data. Sixty per cent of private sector and 45 per cent of public sector respondents saw “making better use of customer insights, trend data, and information in and around the business” as a way to unlock growth and innovation.

Only 44 per cent, however, were able to identify what EMC regards as an accurate definition of the term “big data analytics” – a set of technologies and techniques that draw together insights from multiple data sets to provide real-time insight on specific issues.

James Petter, EMC managing director for UK and Ireland, believes there are signs that organisations are waking up to the benefits of big data, including the public sector.

“We have a proposal to save the UK government £33 billion a year by leveraging data more effectively,” he said.

Data privacy is a particularly hot issue for the sector but Petter is confident that government frameworks will address the major concerns although it will ultimately be a matter of personal responsibility.

“While we can all rely on government to set policy, it’s down to the individual as to what they want to have published,” he said.