Big data analytics: The stakes for students, scientists & managers - a management perspective

For a developing nation, deploying big data (BD) technology and introducing data science in higher education is a challenge. A pessimistic scenario is: Mis-use of data in many possible ways, waste of trained manpower, poor BD certifications from institutes, under-utilization of resources, disgruntled management staff, unhealthy competition in the market, poor integration with existing technical infrastructures. Also, the questions in the minds of students, scientists, engineers, teachers and managers deserve wider attention. Besides the stated perceptions and analyses perhaps ignoring socio-political and scientific temperaments in developing nations, the following questions arise: How did the BD phenomenon naturally occur, post technological developments in Computer and Communications Technology and how did different experts react to it? Are academicians elsewhere agreeing on the fact that BD is a new science? Granted that big data science is a new science what are its foundations as compared to conventional topics in Physics, Chemistry or Biology? Or, is it similar to astronomy or nuclear science? What are the technological and engineering implications and how these can be advantageously used to augment business intelligence, for example? Will the industry adopt the changes due to tactical advantages? How can BD success stories be carried over elsewhere? How will BD affect the Computer Science and other curricula? How will BD benefit different segments of our society on a large scale? To answer these, an appreciation of the BD as a science and as a technology is necessary. This paper presents a quick BD overview, relying on the contemporary literature; it addresses: characterizations of BD and the BD people, the background required for the students and teachers to join the BD bandwagon, the management challenges in embracing BD.