If you need a place to start...

 If you are in the technical field and have not at least heard the term "Big Data" then you have either been on a very long vacation or living under a rock. Do you need a place to get started? Here are a couple of the books from my bookshelf that helped me. I'll be honest, I have not read them cover to cover but instead use them for reference. 

For instance, if a coworker says, "I think there is a problem with the Sharding or the MapReduce algorithm" you can smile, quietly go back to your desk, open these books and be up to speed in no time. 

Here is an except from the beginning of Big Data for Dummies that sums up the business drivers behind the Big Data movement.

"Managing and analyzing data have always offered the greatest benefits and the greatest challenges for organizations of all sizes and across all industries. Businesses have long struggled with finding a pragmatic approach to capturing information about their customers, products, and services. When a company only had a handful of customers who all bought the same product in the same way, things were pretty straightforward and simple. But over time, companies and the markets they participate in have grown more complicated. To survive or gain a competitive advantage with customers, these companies added more product lines and diversified how they deliver their product. "

If you have a database background or are already familiar with database programming then Big Data Glossary is a quick and easy reference to consume in nice neat segments. The book is broken down by the major categories involved with Big Data. What are NoSQL databases? No problem, there is a chapter on that. What about storage? Again, no problem, there is a chapter for that.

It's not too late to get up to speed on the next big wave in computing. Did you miss the "cloud" wave? Don't miss this one!

Next month I will be speaking about using data to integrate with Teradata Marketing Studio.  If you have the problem most businesses have with reaching their customers effectively then join me in L.A for the Teradata Summit.

Both books are available from Amazon here : Big Data Glossary Big Data for Dummies