Technological advancements and the surge in information are revolutionizing business operations across various sectors, including government. The rise of mobile devices and applications, smart sensors and gadgets, cloud computing solutions, and citizen-centric portals is driving up data generation and digital archiving rates within governmental bodies. As digital information grows more extensive and intricate, managing, processing, storing, securing, and disposing of it becomes increasingly complex. New tools for capturing, searching, discovering, and analyzing unstructured data are aiding organizations in extracting valuable insights. The government sector is at a pivotal moment, recognizing that information is a strategic asset and that both structured and unstructured data must be protected, utilized, and analyzed to better serve citizens and meet mission requirements. As governmental leaders work towards transforming their organizations into data-driven entities to achieve their missions effectively, they are setting the stage for correlating dependencies across events, individuals, processes, and information.
High-value government solutions will emerge from a blend of disruptive technologies:
- Mobile devices and applications
- Cloud services
- Social business technologies and networking
- Big Data and analytics
IDC forecasts that by 2020, the IT industry will reach $5 trillion, which is approximately $1.7 trillion more than today’s figures, with around 80% of this growth attributed to third-platform technologies. In the long run, these technologies will be essential for managing the complexity brought about by increased digital information. Big Data stands out as one of the intelligent industry solutions, enabling governments to make informed decisions based on patterns identified through the analysis of large volumes of data — whether related or unrelated, structured or unstructured.
However, achieving these goals requires more than just accumulating vast amounts of data. "Interpreting such extensive Big Data necessitates cutting-edge tools and technologies capable of analyzing and extracting valuable insights from diverse information streams," as noted by Tom Kalil and Fen Zhao in a post on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy blog.
The White House took a significant step towards assisting agencies in finding these technologies when it launched the National Big Data Research and Development Initiative in 2012. This initiative allocated over $200 million to maximize the potential of the Big Data explosion and the tools required for its analysis.
Big Data presents challenges that are nearly as formidable as its promise is promising. Efficient data storage is one such challenge. With tight budgets, agencies must reduce per-megabyte storage costs while ensuring easy access to the data when needed. Backing up large volumes of data adds another layer of complexity.
Effectively analyzing the data is also a significant hurdle. Many agencies use commercial tools that help them sift through vast amounts of data and identify trends that can enhance operational efficiency (a recent MeriTalk study found that federal IT executives believe Big Data could save more than $500 billion while fulfilling mission objectives).
Custom-developed Big Data tools are also aiding agencies in analyzing their data. For instance, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Computational Data Analytics Group has made its Piranha data analytics system available to other agencies. This system has helped medical researchers identify a link that can alert doctors to potential aortic aneurysms before they occur. It is also used for more routine tasks like matching job candidates with hiring managers by sifting through résumés.
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