Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!
Rate this book!
Write a review?
A decent high level overview of what big data is and the tech to support it; however, this was written in 2012 so is quite dated by 2020.
ARC provided by NetGalleyBig data. What is it and why the heck do we keep hearing people talk about it? Hasn't it been around for years and years? Haven't we always looked at data? Yes..and no. In Big Data at Work author Tom Davenport, expert in analytics, shares with us that at one time he too thought big data was just a retread of old information. But then he started looking into it and he discovered...big data is new. In this book Davenport tells us in a concise, nonsense, and nontechnical wa...
Absolutely interesting! All the articles are written with such clarity that it is a pleasure to enjoy the reading. I loved the way the authors describe how the new trends are re-shaping diverse industries and how the data scientists are never going to be out of work... which makes me sigh in relief...
What I liked most about this overview of Big Data is that it shows the potential without participating in the hyperbole. Davenport is an established expert in this field. This book covers what a modern practitioner or business leader needs to know, including the evolution, technology stacks, skill sets and, most importantly, the application.
Small book that is good as a quick introduction of big data concepts, use cases, and differences from standard analytics. An entry point to executives, managers and any newbie to big data.Do not expect any deep discussions or any technical details.
DNF. If after 40 pages the value proposition of the book doesn't come through I can't continue.
I read this book to gain a better understanding of how Big Data can benefit companies who develop intentional efforts to harness all that big data has to offer. Given that I don't have a large technical background in data analysis or programming, I appreciated the easy to follow language that was used throughout the book. With that being said, I don't feel like I gained a deeper understanding of how to harness this resource that is taking the business world by storm. The examples given were very...
Big Data at work seeks to provide a high level overview of what Big Data is and how it can integrate into the business world. Thomas Davenport seeks to show that the next evolution in data management (from traditional reporting, to business intelligence to analytics) is now focused on Big Data and how to organize large unstructured amounts of data and correlate it with trends in your industry. Davenport looks at two paths that have used big data. The start-ups who had a clean slate and were able...
This is a very dry book and feels slightly outdated since it was released. It feels like this book could be condensed into an article without loss of content.
This is rated completely upon what I imagine is the right audience for this book - senior executives in companies that have or will soon be forced to move into being more data driven. Sure, for those people it could prove useful. But if you are in such a position and you find this rather rudimentary and quite dated guide useful, I would argue it’s probably too little to late for those poor souls. Anyone who does not identify with my above example audience is probably better of with something els...
Since I know next to nothing about Big Data, this book was a welcomed oasis in the rapidly changing world of information technology. Davenport is a business consultant, as such his focus is on the conceptual and business end of the idea. I was looking for something that was closer to the technical end. To be fair, he does make a more than valiant stab at listing what big data can do for actual physical products rather than just virtual products.I think he did a great job of introducing me to the...
This book is a simple accessible guide to help business owners and executives make sense of big data technologies, including their numerous opportunities, potential benefits, required talents, business strategies, implementation processes, etc. Don't expect any nitty-gritty stuff, but reading the book should provide a good starting point for evaluating and probing into how exactly to apply big data technologies in a way that aligns with and supports your company's key objectives.
A good managerial overview on what you "should" do with data. Technology is advancing so fast in this space, any in-depth analysis (or high level for that matter) will be out of date before publication. The business aspects are good and always the bigger challenge. IT should drive governance - great if a business agrees but a battle royale if they don't. Still worth the time to get an idea on concepts.
Davenport's " Big Data at Work " is a short and sweet guide to the big trends in everything big data. From data analytics, data management, machine learning and implementation, the book covers a little bit of everything without ever going too much into the minutiae -- which is exactly what you should expect from this kind of book.This book is aimed at managers involved in the data management and analysis process or casual onlookers who want to get the big-picture version of what's going on in th...
The author stole my money on this book. This one contains exactly what his other books, but with a new cover...
left the book half unfinished
Surprisingly readable book on the explosion of big data and its emergence within modern businesses. I expected a dry overview of data analytics. Instead, I was given a clear introduction to the nature of big data, the reason for its growing focus within so many organizations, and the change (if not havoc) it will bring on future commerce, traffic, security, innovation, etc. Data is growing exponentially. Nowadays it encompasses not just the facts (i.e. name, rank, serial number) but shopping pat...
Most organizations should be moving toward big data, especially retail, travel,telecommunications, media, entertainment, and financial services. And funny enough a 2013 survey showed that although familiar with the concept, only 28% were making use big data.What is this thing called "Big Data?" Big Data is broad and affects organizations and businesses in a myriad of ways. Basically it's a way of taking in huge amounts of data, even data that you might not think is relevant and making use of it
If you are in the data mining/analysis field, this is probably a fascinating read. I found certain parts of it interesting but for the most part it was really dry and I thought it would never end. And I really got tired of hearing the term "early days". As in, "It's still early days, but...".
Big data at work is an hype-free introduction to the highly popularized topic of big data. The books' content, depth and structure are targeted to novices in the field of big data. I would especially recommend the book to managers who having heard about big data are looking for a guide on what it is, where to start, what is needed and some success stories.Davenport introduces the concept of big data in an excellent manner. The introduction is jargon free and filled with excellent examples. He fo...