What does Big Data mean to you?

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Apr 22, 2014, 02:22 ET

CHICAGO, April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Data is one of the most frequently heard buzz words in technology today. How does an educational or governmental organization tackle the challenges and issues of Big Data? How do you know what questions to ask and what priorities to set? How do you evaluate options, establish realistic budgets and provide the right resources to ensure successful technical deployments? McGladrey's Technology update for the public sector webcast provides guidance on how to tackle these issues.

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McGladrey's 'Technology update for the publoic sector' helps give you a good framework to help get your process started and provide some great ideas about current activities happening around the country that you may not be aware of. (PRNewsFoto/McGladrey)

First, it's important to define Big Data and how it applies to public sector organizations. There are many definitions, but essentially it means the leveraging of large volumes of information and data, and applying computer power to obtain analytics that lead to enhanced insights and informed decision making. And don't let the name fool you. Big Data is scalable. The concept cannot only be applied to large and complex organizations, but to smaller and developing entities as well.

Uses of Big Data in the public sector, particularly in governmental entities, can include areas within fraud and security, enabling agencies to be more proactive with responses to challenges and emergencies. Another impact area in which Big Data can play a key role includes an organization's finance metrics. By compiling financial data, trends and assumptions can be plotted to create key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs can impact a variety of operations, including: property tax refunds, collections, vendor payments, speed of procurement and staff efficiency. This collection and publishing of data to the public will enable transparency, which is a growing need and request of constituents. The public can obtain data on crime, traffic, community program spending, vendor information and much more, which cuts down on agency calls and requests from the community. Learn more by watching McGladrey's Technology update for the public sector.

SOURCE McGladrey