Seven Things to Expect at the Big Data Congress
SAINT JOHN –Next week, New Brunswick is going big with big data.
From Monday through Wednesday the Big Data Congress (BDC) plans to show the region how data can transform our lives and economy.
Here are seven things you can expect to learn at the BDC:
1) Exploring the opportunity:
To a lot of people, big data is still this abstract concept or buzzword. However, there is very real and practical implications on how it can improve business in our region.
If you want to know more, check out our interview with T4G president and BDC organizer Geoff Flood and learn what all the fuss is about.
2) Find out how brilliant people are using big data in brilliant ways:
The congress has some pretty cool speakers who are leading the way for big data all over the world, including Alec Ross, Alex “Sandy” Pentland, Vivek Kundra and Taavi Kotka.
3) How big data can save our traditional industries:
Atlantic Canada has been built on traditional industries like forestry and agriculture. But as we enter a more digital and global world the future of those industries have come into question.
But Alec Ross, one of America’s leading experts on innovation and the author The Industries of the Future, believes leveraging big data can help bring those industries into the future and help them continue for decades to come. Check out our Q & A with him ahead of his keynote address.
4) How Atlantic Canadian companies are already using big data:
Some of the speakers lined up at the Big Data Congress are from businesses from the Atlantic region, including New Brunswick’s own McCain Foods.
Last month we chatted with the company’s director of agronomy Dr. Yves Leclerc about how the company is using data to help improve crop growth. It’s pretty cool.
5) How big data is transforming healthcare:
Healthcare has come a long way over the last century, but big data is about to take it even further. Last month we talked to Big Data Congress speakers Jamie Heywood, co-founder and chairman of PatientsLikeMe and Tyler Wish, CEO and co-founder of Sequence Bio about how data will not only change medicine, but how patients are diagnosed and treated.
6) Big data is all about people:
Big data can not only be used to improve industries, it can also be used to understand the evolution of culture. This is the expertise of Big Data Congress keynote and MIT scholar Sandy Pentland. Huddle’s Allan Gates chatted with him recently about how big data can help us understand how we as humans ultimately work.
7) How to put big data to work:
Now that you know big data’s potential, it’s time to put it to use in your business. The congress will be hosting a whole session on how companies like Mariner Partners, Innovatia, Adobe, EY, T4G and Rogers are finding practical uses for big data, and how your business can too. We give you the details here.