Big Data

By Catalina Zou

Data is everywhere. Whether it is health data or statistics relevant to social media, everything that is going on around us is a part of the big data. In recent times, COVID-19 cases and deaths have been continuing to rise around the world, making data and analytics one of the hot topics in the past few months. For the YES 2020 October meeting, guest speaker Sonia Khosla, Vice President of Data and Analytics at Magellan Health, introduced the YES members to the field of Data and Analytics.

In the past few years, there have been significant changes in the technology industry with the rise of cell phones and the internet, and the amount of collectable data has exploded. With the rate of development in society, the importance of data and analytics has been rising as companies need to be able to keep up with the market. Khosla also brings up the fact that the field of data and analytics has the potential to create over 6 million jobs, making it a very important job area.

Aside from keeping track of development, there is also a large amount of making development in data and analytics. The large amounts of information collected around the world are essential for many aspects of research and advancement. In the case of COVID, people around the world have been able to use data to develop predictions for a person’s risk of death depending on age and health conditions. Google and online shopping wouldn’t be possible without data either. To put it simply, data and analytics is important in the growth of technology and has made large impacts on our lives. With the proper applications, all the data that is created can be used for the benefit of the future.