What's the Big Deal with Big Data?

Irrigation has gone high-tech. It’s no surprise that technology plays an important role in increasing the efficiency and decreasing the water usage of modern watering equipment. The rise of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and their ability to stream data across fields has accelerated high-tech irrigation. Collecting this data brings lots of promise, and few legal concerns. Todd Janzen was recently interviewed by Anne Blankenbiller, editor-in-chief of Irrigation Today, for the feature article: What’s the Big Deal with Big Data?

Q: What is big data?

A: Big data is a collection of aggregated data sets. Think of it like this: There are many tools out there already that collect data, whether it is our cell phones or the thermostat in our house or google—you name it. When you start to pool everybody’s collective use of those tools that collect data and analyze it, that’s when you really start to talk about big data.

A good example of big data is a phone app that shows where traffic is stuck or bottled up. Everyone’s phone is reporting how quickly they are moving on the highway, and the app collects that information and tells those using the app where people are slowing down in certain areas. You can start to draw big-picture conclusions from all of the little data sets that are going into the aggregate data set.

Continue reading here: What’s the Deal with Big Data?