Category: Digital

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Digital Futurism

The Future of Fingerprint Scanning For Mobile Devices

In futuristic shows as well as spy movies, fingerprint scanning is utilized as a high-tech security mechanism. Up until the past couple of years, fingerprint scanning was considered relatively exotic and new to the security world. Now fingerprint scanning is utilized in a variety of ways, from preventing unauthorized individuals from entering certain buildings or to record fingerprints in a police station. To the uninformed, the tech behind a scanner can appear indistinguishable from magic but the truth is that it isn’t nearly as complicated.

How does it work?

As you probably already know, every human being has their own set of fingerprints. The part that makes fingerprints so special is that each one is virtually unique. Thanks to their formation through a unique combination of genetic and environmental factors, there are no two people on Earth who have the same set of fingerprints. The more intuitive among you would realize the implications this has for both security and police work but did you know that it can also be utilized in mobile devices?

To figure out how a fingerprint scanner could be utilized in mobile devices, first you must understand how it works. The most common method of getting an image of someone’s fingerprint is using a technique called optical scanning. A special light sensor system called a CCD takes a picture and illuminates the ridges on your finger. After it has done that, the processor within the scanner ensures that the image has the right brightness or if it has the appropriate definition. Once it has determined it does, it then either stores it within a database or if it is a police scanner, compares it with current fingerprints on file.

Potential Applications:

One potential use for fingerprint scanners in mobile devices is for security. Since it would refuse to unlock with your specific fingerprint, it would ensure that only you have access to your phone making it much more secure than a simple pass code. While a pass code can be found out through brute-force attempts, it is much harder to fake physical attributes and there is no way to “guess” fingerprints.

While there are quite a few benefits to using one for security, they are not infallible. If someone is dedicated to unlocking your mobile device and manages to get a mold of your finger or access to your prints, they could fool the scanner. That’s why it’s recommended that you use a conventional pass code in addition to a biometric scanner. Regardless, it isn’t likely that one would get access to your prints or a mold of your finger so for the most-part, it is secure.

Scanners in Mobile Devices

While all the possibilities brought on by fingerprint scanning seem nice, you might wondering when mobile device manufacturers will actually begin to incorporate the technology in their devices. Well fret no more as there are a number of major phone manufacturers that plan on incorporating this tech eventually.

A year ago, Apple purchased AuthenTec’s encryption business hinting at a interest in fingerprint sensors. With such a large acquisition, it certainly suggests that future iPhone devices may incorporate such tech.

If Apple devices aren’t exactly your cup of tea, it’s been rumoured that future Samsung Galaxy phones will incorporate such tech. Considering the current Samsung Galaxy Nexus already features facial recognition and voice recognition technology, this is a very likely proposition.

With these developments in the biometric scanning field, it’s a given that this will have a major impact on our daily life soon. Whether you see this as an exciting change or a potentially scary prospect regarding privacy, it’s hard to deny that this will forever change how we perceive authentication.

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Digital Futurism

How Do 3D Printers Work?

Printers of days past were only able to render 2D images and it was almost unfathomable to make a 3D object. Since 3D printers were introduced at consumer level, the possibility of rendering any 3D object is very real; though these types of printers are quite expensive, at least in comparison to a normal printer, they can be used for a variety of purposes. Stereolithography isn’t really new, and it was around since the 1980s, though it is now available for a number of people and not only limited to large corporations.

Whether there are plans to open up a gift shop and sell objects manufactured with a 3D printer, or there is the need of rendering objects which are to be used for scientific purposes (i.e. DNA-chain models and similar), 3D printing is useful in a variety of fields.

Not many understand how exactly these printers are able to render 3D objects originally designed with a computer, however. If you are in the dark about how these printers exactly function, keep reading for more clarity and information on the subject. All will be unveiled and soon you may even be able to purchase a printer yourself and unravel the magic behind printing a 3D object, instead of its traditional two dimensional counterpart.

The Design

Like 2D printing, there must be something which is first designed on your computer in order for it to be printed. In this case, the design is undertaken and completed with a program specifically suited to 3D, an application which is able to render your 3D idea in a series of simple steps; eventually this will result in a complete 3D object, perhaps made up of a series of polygons, spheres or similar geometric shapes.

Programs which are able to work with 3D objects are called CADs, which stands for Computer Aided design. These programs include Maya, 3D max or other similar programs. There is also the possibility of ordering ready made 3D designs from a number of sites, which of course results in less control and customisation but can result in quite a profitable venture (in terms of eventual sales etc.) These sites include Sculpteo, Thingiverse, Shapeways and more.

Once the design is completed it is then send to the 3D printer, much like text or an image would be sent to a 2D printer. Files which are ready to be printed by a 3D printer have an “stl” file extension, which stands for Standard Tessellation Language.

The Process

The printing itself is undertaken by the overlapping of a number of layers, usually made up of material which is biological in nature, which may be rubber, paper, string-like material or more. Each particular printer differs in terms of the material which it uses, but the layering process always remains the same; the cost of the printer and process can also vary depending on the material used, logically, which can result in a more expensive or less expensive manufacturing process.

Once the design is sent to the printer, the machine pulls a filament of material through a small tube, and it then sends this into something called an extruder. This extruder heats the material up so it is more malleable, and it then sends it to a small hole and eventually onto the plate itself. This gradual layering of the material eventually results into the 3D object which can be used for a variety of purposes, as indicated above.

The thickness of the material deposited varies, from 0.1mm to larger designs. The average thickness is about 100 microns. All this determines how long it takes for the object to be printed.
3D printers are used in a variety of fields, and they will likely revolutionise a number of industries, from the field of medicine to the arts.

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Digital

What Is Software As A Service or (SaaS)?

With the growth of the Internet and the proliferation of cloud computing, Software as a Service (Saas) is quickly being adopted by companies around the world. Service-based options are becoming cost-effective and more accessible alternatives to traditional software packages. Originally, Software as a Service was envisioned as a companion to on-premise applications. More and more, SaaS is replacing traditional software applications and packages as stand-alone applications.

About Software as a Service

Also known as on-demand software, Software as a Service or SaaS is a software delivery model where applications and related date are hosted using cloud technology. As a result, SaaS helps reduce costs and makes deployment almost instantaneous. This type of software is generally available over the Internet using a web browser. Rather than purchase a physical software package to install on a personal computer, clients access the software online. Applications run on a service provider’s server and the provider itself manages the application.

Examples include office, messaging, management, development and computer-aided design (CAD) software. Popular applications also include file sharing tools, as well as music and video applications. Notable examples of SaaS applications include Microsoft Office 365 (www.office.microsoft.com) and Apple’s iTunes and iCloud applications (www.apple.com).

The Benefits of Software as a Service

One of the main benefits of SaaS is the lack of hardware or software required to purchase and install individual applications. In addition, users do not have to worry about maintaining or updating their software since this is remotely managed by the software or application provider. As a result, upgrades and integration with existing operating systems are seamless. The only requirement to access the SaaS applications is an Internet connection. Without the need for specific IT infrastructure, SaaS applications are much more accessible. They can be used on virtually any type of device and from any location using an Internet connection. Adoption rates for SaaS are higher than traditional software packages because of easier access and availability.

The lack of IT infrastructure as well as up-front licensing fees and ongoing management or maintenance requirements associated with traditional software packages also means costs of SaaS applications are lower. Most SaaS applications are subscription based, which provides users and business clients with lower initial costs. Generally, SaaS applications with limited functions or scope are offered to users free of charge. Enhanced functions are typically provided at a fee, although certain SaaS applications provide full servcie application free of charge when employing alternative revenue models such as in-application advertising.

Developing Software as a Service Applications

A variety of service providers assist businesses with building Software as a Service applications. DThese providers, such as IBM (www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/ca/en/saas.html), Google Apps (www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business) and Document Options Limited (www.document-options.co.uk), work with business clients to identify individual requirements. Application developers work with clients to design, develop and deploy customised SaaS solutions, as well as hosting applications with advanced cloud computing environments. Applications can range from finance to human resources tools, archiving and records management applications, or social and customer service applications.

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Digital Marketing

Do Infographics Still Work As A Link Building Tactic?

Whereas SEO may have been the most popular online marketing term a few short years ago, infographics have now become the catch phrase for helping a company achieve exposure in what it proving to be an increasingly competitive market. While this may be true, too much of a good thing is never sustainable over time. Many feel that as more and more companies jump on the infographic “bandwagon”, the same abuse that we have previously seen with SEO may be occurring yet again. Furthermore, many such designs are incorrectly implemented, contain useless and visually confusing filler and due to key phrase stuffing, many analysts feel that Google’s next step may actually be to impose restrictions on such tactics. Thus, the question arises as to whether infographics are still a viable marketing tool. Sites such as this one illustrate this dilemma. So, let us take a brief look at some simple guidelines that can help infographics drive a product to the customer.

Link Building Despite Market Saturation

It should be clear that thousands of bloggers and webmasters are approached to publish infographics each day. The problem is that many such pieces lack the creativity to make them appealing to such intermediaries. While static text may be the backbone of this presentation, innovation needs to occur simultaneously in the form of aesthetic streamlining coupled with unique ways to target the viewer. In essence, the medium should be malleable around the content; not the other way around.

Targeted Content

As the internet continues to grow, so do viewers’ needs continue to narrow. Thus, relevance becomes a key component in the successful presentation of an infographic. Individuals simply do not want to spend the time having to visually filter through spurious and superfluous data to eventually reach the core content that is being represented. Just as SEO was forced to modify and cease utilising such less-than-relevant content, infographics need to do the same. The core intention of these presentation needs to be clear, concise and above all interesting. This blog post further highlights this strategy.

Useful Content

In this scenario, usefulness should go above and beyond telling a reader facts that he or she may need to know. Instead, this type of link building should revolve around making the experience more fulfilling by linking out to peripheral sites that will help increase awareness of a certain product or service. This is frequently overlooked due to the fact that many designers still only appreciate the immediate visual impact of an infographic. On the contrary, those browsing tend to be extremely pragmatic in their desires. Companies such as www.seobrighton.com appreciate the importance of this approach. Infographics should recognise that and proactively engage the viewer so he or she will leave the page satisfied.

Less Clutter

Finally, infographics need to be less confusing. The designer should not saturate the page with as much information as possible but instead should make the entire presentation easy to follow. Once again, we can see similar parallels with webpages that are all but impossible to navigate due to poor graphical design. An infographic should be a pleasant experience. Streamlining the content is an excellent way to help drive a point across with a subtlety that will increase the likelihood of the visitor to take a greater interest. Simply stated, more is certainly not better.

These four tips are some of the most effective at driving an idea across to the viewer but doing so in a non-obtrusive manner. Other similar suggestions can be found here.Though some may discount infographics as having little place in modern marketing, they are nonetheless a powerful and innovative tool that should not be overlooked. As we continue to see a paradigm shift in terms of how these displays should operate, it is likely that infographics will continue to play a powerful role in link building into the foreseeable future.

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Digital Futurism

3D Printing & Art – A New Frontier?

3D printing is still the next big thing, and many people are excited about it for industrial, manufacturing and medical reasons – and for good cause! The technology looks set to revolutionise these sectors but that is not the only part of life affected by the promise and potential of 3D printing.

Please DO handle the exhibits!

Imagine a blind person able to feel the Rosetta Stone or the exquisite Pieta carved by Michelangelo and gain a real sense of the majesty and beauty of these pieces? The originals are kept under lock and key, climate-controlled and safe from theft, malicious vandalism and curious fingers, but a 3D model will be a perfect replica, painted and treated to look and feel like the real thing and the model can be handled, turned over and used to make casts and imprints at will. http://www.tested.com/art/makers/454188-maker-profile-cosmo-wenmans-3d-printed-art/ Little consideration has been given to the boost to art appreciation made possible by this new technology, but it is beginning to take hold, and soon it may be possible for all of us to wander around a museum or exhibition, touching the displays to our heart’s content and gaining a true feel for art!

From the computer screen to your hand

On the market already, is software and specialised styluses that work within a computer operating system to create works of art, from intricately detailed and realistic models to wonderful swooping abstract shapes, which can then be printed out for sale or display. The cost of this technology is coming ever closer to being affordable for all, having plummeted from $2500.00 to $1000.00 – still pricy, but getting there! This technology is opening up an entirely new world for a different kind of artist – the cyber artist who can create wonders on the small screen, but maybe struggles to express his or her creativity in the ‘real’ world.

Not just plain plastic any more

The one drawback to 3D printing has always been the fact that the lasers lay down layer upon layer of specialised polymer, making a durable and sturdy product, but one that is essentially plastic! The medical sector are trying to use ceramic substances as replacement bone, and are working on a cellular base into which stem cells can be planted to create an implant that will grow and change with the body, and other industries are working on stronger bonds and metal/ plastic fusions to create strong load-bearing products. But there has been considerable progress since the first 3D printers were used. The aesthetes have already worked out how to use precious metals like gold, silver, bronze and platinum in their creations and a very good replica ‘sandstone’ has already been created too. Other industries are working on products that appear rubbery and have a good amount of ‘give’ to them. http://www.articlesbase.com/gadgets-and-gizmos-articles/exponential-growth-within-3d-printing-6268564.html

The world in 3D

The inaugural 3D Printshow Awards are to be held in 2013 with a stated aim of celebrating the best of 3D creations from every field. Entries have started flooding in; featuring everything from life-life face masks of the artist to minute, to architectural models, to beautifully detailed lace-like shells and skulls. http://3dprintshow.com/london2013/awards/

As predicted when the world of 3D printing was still in its infancy, there have turned out to be almost limitless applications for 3D printing. Thanks to this innovative and almost world-changing technology not only can more people learn to appreciate delicate and fragile ancient masterpieces, but more people can learn new skills and express themselves through this new medium. Surely anything that can make the world a more beautiful place is something to be encouraged?

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Digital

5 of the Best Open Source Document Management Systems

Nuxeo

A comprehensive open source content management platform, Nuxeo provides several solutions to a business or an individual such as case management, document management and digital asset management – all in a single, integrated package. Known for its modular design and flexibility, Nuxeo offers a slew of features that cater to almost every content management need that a company may have. Nuxeo offers CMP (Content Management Platform) that allows organisations to focus on developing content-oriented applications, instead of weaving the data around the code. This allows for a modularised approach that could turn out quite handy for the business in several scenarios.

The open document management system that comes with Nuxeo contains a whole set of features, such as support for multi-formatted content, meta-data standardisation, easy navigation within the structure, and secure workflow to ensure that no data is compromised upon.

Nuxeo’s site offers more detailed coverage of its features, and can be accessed here: http://www.nuxeo.com/en/products/document-management

LifeRay

LifeRay takes the concept of content and document management to a whole new level, altogether. This open source platform offers web-based content management through a portal. Liferay offers several worthwhile features, such as a unified central location for all kinds of media, support for mounting multiple content repositories from other service providers, support for user-defined content categorisation, one-click page creation, user-defined workflow, live page editing and scheduling features, etc.

Alfresco

Alfresco is one of the most popular open source content management systems available in the market, today. This system comes with a slew of features that would possibly address the needs of multiple users with different needs and requirements. Some of the noticeable features of the system are freedom for manual customisations, support for portable devices, web-based collaboration, and much more. This document management system, in particular, provides the flexibility of the cloud, and offers all the usual document storage, editing and manipulation features that are expected in a DMS. More information can be obtained from their website at http://www.alfresco.com

OpenDocMan

If at all there is a need for an open source-based document management system written purely in PHP, then OpenDocMan would just be what the doctor will have ordered for. This free DMS comes with web-based access, automated installation and several upgradable features. It is flexible enough to accommodate any pre-existing business rules that the company may have.

The document management features that OpenDocMan provides to its users include centralised storage of documents and files, access to restricted features, change tracking and history features, support for a wide range of file types, automated workflow, metadata fields for all files stored in the system to allow better management, physical storage on server for all related documents, quick browsing and access features with sorting filters, as well.

If this is not enough, OpenDocMan requires very little resources for operation, and can run on low configurations, too.

Plone

Plone is another state-of-the-art open source content management system (CMS) that provides or comes loaded with some powerful features. The latest version of the system is v4, which offers some really cool features such as better memory efficiency, support in handling massive file sizes, etc. It also works off Python and NoSQL to make for a very good user experience. With over 340 core developers and more than 300 solution providers worldwide, one has no choice but to go with the claims that Plone makes, when it says that the latest version of Plone is 50 % faster than its predecessor. A better understanding of Plone’s flexibility can be achieved by simply visiting their website: http://plone.org/

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Digital

5 of the best Sports apps on iOS and Android

Sport apps and mobile devices are a perfect match. People have been comfortable taking gadgets on their workouts since the first ‘wired for sound’ athlete and Walkman 30 years ago.

Whether you are an armchair athlete following your favourite team or a dedicated sports gamer, the iOS and android ecosystem are sure to have the perfect sports app for you.

Following are five of our favourite sports apps for iPhone and android powered devices.

FIFA 12 by EA SPORTS

If you are after a console quality in-depth sport game for your trusty iDevice or android powered gadget then you really can’t go past EA Sports FIFA 12. It has received rave reviews across the board and it’s one of the must-have sport apps available.

Apart from the excellent graphics, innovative touch based controls and immersive sound you can link a 2nd device to use as a standalone controller if you choose the iOS version.

The intuitive and context sensitive controls show that EA have been putting some thought into their flagship mobile football game. While playing there is a real sense of weight to your actions and you can’t go past the feeling of scoring a goal and hearing the virtual crowd go wild.

EA are known to regularly have sales on their mobile titles but this game is worth every cent of the asking price. It’s the best mobile football game to date.

http://www.ea.com/au/football/fifa12/mobile

ESPN ScoreCenter

In addition to the excellent sport games on the iOS and android stores you can also find a plethora of applications for the more serious sport lover. ESPN ScoreCenter is a must-have for any sports fan.

It sends live scores from hundreds of league games around the world straight to the palm of your hand. If this wasn’t reason enough to download it right away it also gives you the ability to choose your favourite teams and receive updates on how they are doing. The fun facts that display while data is loading is also a nice touch.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/mobile/products/products?id=6857590

Flick Golf!

Flick Golf! is one of the best mobile sports games ever. The intuitive controls, slick graphics and pick up and play design are the perfect blend of fun and convenience.

While it doesn’t present you with a fully detailed golf sim, the elements that it does recreate are perfect for on-the-go gaming. The gameplay is addictive and fun and doesn’t weigh you down with club choices or any deep strategy. Just check the wind speed and distance to the hole and flick away!

Reebok Fitness

The Reebok fitness app is a recent addition to the mobile fitness world and it’s a great option whether you are a total beginner or professional athlete. The app offers a range of workout customisation options and is presented in a sleek, minimalist style that’s easy to read while exercising.

Of particular merit are the more than 200 workouts on offer and the fact that it doesn’t require an expensive hardware add-on to work. It’s also a departure from similar apps that track your activity through sensing movement. This is a positive because that style of app rarely work accurately and are a noticeable drain on battery power.

http://www.reebok.com/en-GB/reebok-fitness/

Stick Tennis

Stick tennis has been a regular showing in top 10 lists since it was launched. It’s easy to see why it’s so popular after you play it for the first time. The simple graphics and fun presentation hide a surprising depth in gameplay and it also features a variety of game modes to keep you engaged.

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Digital

How to Turn Your Instagram Photos into Real-Life Momentos

Instagram is a social networking service and photo sharing app in one. It has become massively popular in just a few years primarily because of its unique feature where users get to apply digital filters to their photos. It was originally designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch users, but Android phones soon followed the lead in April 2012.

The Instagram Craze

Currently, the app has more than 100 million users and 90 million of them are active monthly with 10 million photos shared each day, according to the January 2013 statistics. If you are obsessed with IG like its millions of followers, you are probably wondering how you can print your photos from the app. As you may have already noticed, there is no option to print the pictures you post as well as the ones that others share. You can only share them, hit like, and comment. Of course, it would be even more wonderful if you could turn the photos into real-world souvenirs. If that is what you are looking for, here are seven ways to print your photos from Instagram:

Via Social Networks

Instagram gives you the option to share the photos to Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook. If you have the photo on your Facebook wall or the other social networking sites, you can go to your computer and download them. You can edit it through Photoshop before you print to resize or crop.

Via Email

By default, when you snap a photo of yourself or anything random and you post it to Instagram, this particular image will be saved to the Camera Roll. Unlike when you use the above method, email sending lets you grab photos with the highest resolution. Therefore, you get a much better quality when you send the photos to your email.

Syncing

The problem with Camera Roll is that it does no let you send many photos to your email and it can be difficult to find the photo that you want to send especially if you have a lot of pictures already. An option here is to plug in your phone to your computer and sync your files. You can now print as many photos as you like.

Online Instagram Viewer

You can make your life easier by logging into an online viewer for IG. You may have to sign up for the site first, but there are also some that only asks for your IG account. You can then view your account from there, including the photos of the people you follow. When you have found the photo/s you like, simply right click on them and choose “Save Image As” You now have them saved in your computer, you can do the editing, or you can print them instantly.

Blurb

There are a number of printing companies online for your Instagram photos, including http://www.blurb.co.uk/ where you can create your very own book made up of IG shots starting from £7.95. You can choose from hard to soft covers and even define how many pages your book contains.

StickyGram

https://stickygram.com/ is a UK-based company that turns your photos into magnets. You can liven up your boring, white fridge by sticking the retro-style images on it. Shipping takes 2-5 days and it is free anywhere in the world.

Printstagram

Another company worth mentioning is http://printstagr.am/. This is a US printing service provider, but they ship to the UK which can take up to five weeks. They can turn your photos into a poster and you can also choose Polaroid prints for as many pictures as you like.

With your photos printed for you, you can hang them on walls, your fridge, or wherever you want. You can even put them in picture frames to have the printed memories displayed as beautifully as they should be.

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Digital

6 Mobile Android Apps To Make Your Phone Into A Scanner

Most people always have to deal with countless hardcopy documents and photographs, especially if they work in an office environment. To make this paper clutter more bearable and expedient, you could use a softcopy of the documents in your PC. However, and rather unfortunately, softcopy documents in PCs cannot be carried and read anywhere since you will need your PC to do it.

The transcendent and most convenient method of handling those documents is carrying and reading them through your android phone. This can be easily facilitated through a scanning app, which would enable you to hastily and effortlessly scan and save a photograph or document in your phone. Here is a list of 6 apps which are dedicated to offer ultimate scanning features for documents, photos and bar codes:

Document Scanner

This is a meritorious app if you need to save a document in your phone to read it later. It swiftly scans any type of hardcopy document and saves it in PDF. All you need to do is run the phone camera through every corner of the document to capture all the details.

In addition to allowing you save the scans in your phone memory, the app can also expediently upload the documents to Google Docs, Box.net and Dropbox. These features are accessible in the free trial version, which is only valid for 7 days. If you are pleased with it, you are required to pay $3.98 for the full version.

CamScanner

This is a more improved and efficacious scanning app than the Document Scanner. It captures high quality, precise details and has exceptional enhancing features. It automatically detects the paper edges and dimensions, hence capturing the entire document. Its superior focusing features enable you to scan a document even in minimal light. If you capture the entire document, use the slick crop, drag and snap features to perfectly size it according to your preferences. The free trail version of this app is available on https://market.android.com/details?id=com.intsig.camscanner . The full version on the other hand, can be accessed through https://market.android.com/details?id=com.intsig.lic.camscanner after parting with $4.99.

PDF Scanner

This is a perfect app for individuals who prefer simplicity as opposed to the enhancement features in other apps. It doesn’t have the copious features which other apps come with. As a matter of fact, all you have to do with it is just point your phone camera to the document, focus and tap to capture when the view finder is precisely fixed to the document. If the light is too little to sufficiently illuminate your document, use the phone’s flash. Unfortunately, since there’s no free trial version of this app, you can only utilize it after paying $1.99.

Droid Scan Pro PDF

Droid Scan significantly differs with all other scanning apps through the method it uses to capture the documents. Instead of directly incorporating the camera within it, the app allows you to momentarily exit, capture the image through the camera and subsequently pick up the processing tasks. Its edge detection is pleasantly effectual and quite accurate. The app, which is available in both free and paid version ($4.99) can save the documents in JPEG or PDF.

Document Scanner

This app is almost similar to CamScanner but with a much cleaner and organized interface. Although it has quite a few effective enhancement features, they are not as expensive as Camscanner’s. Upon capturing your image, you can covert it into PDF form or upload to Google Docs, Box.net or DropBox. You can check out this app for free and subsequently purchase it at $3.98 if it delights you.

Barcode Scanner

This scanner is principally intended to scan barcodes only. Bar codes are usually published to link mobile devices to particular websites. Unfortunately, it can only scan barcodes. To use it, point your phone camera to the barcode. You’ll be immediately linked to the website which is represented by the barcode.

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Digital

Is Data the New Oil?

The catch-phrase ‘data is the new oil’ is a tempting one to adopt and re-use readily, and indeed, superficially it seems to be a true and wise quotation. However, the theory may not stand up to scrutiny when examined thoroughly.

Oil

The truth of the phrase, which is sometimes quoted as ‘big data is the new big oil’ is obviously a nod to the massive oil industry which grew up very quickly, almost overnight, with the discovery of good quantities of oil. For those lucky souls who discovered oil in their back yards it was a miraculous change in fortune, from average everyday people to multimillionaire in a week or less, and from that point of view a similarity can be drawn: data may be the basis of riches for those lucky and smart enough to make the most of the opportunities available.

Data

What is data, and how is it a commodity? Data is essentially information, bits and pieces or pages and pages of facts, figures, ideas and information. Data is not like oil in that it is not a finite resource, and nor does all data have or keep that same value. A gallon of oil will always have a value, albeit a slightly fluctuating one, but information must not only be relevant and up to date, it must be pertinent. A list of names and addresses, for example, will not hold value after five years, as the people will have moved away. The list may have been worth money a month or two after it was published, but after a year or so, will literally not be worth the paper it is printed on.

What is Big Data?

Big data simply refers to enormous amounts of data, particularly databases or datasets that have grown so immense that they are almost unwieldy and difficult to monitor. Big data will, of a necessity, always be computerised. It is only with the help of automated filters and search criteria that anyone will be able to make good use of big data.

Using Big Data to Save Time

One way that data can earn money is by using information stored to predict the potential for extra sales. For example, if someone wants to buy washing powder, analysts can use the pattern of past sales, for millions of customers over a long period of time, to see that when people buy washing powder, a great deal of them also buy fabric softener. Bleach may also be a common purchase linked to washing powder. Thus, store layouts can be changed to put the washing close to the softener and the bleach; thereby tempting the purchaser into picking up all three items instead of the one they actually need, but still only taking the same amount of time as before. Online shopping already is geared this way, as evidenced by the helpful sidebars that state ‘People who bought this item, also looked at…’ This process is responsible for many extra sales that would have been missed completely without the information gleaned from the mass of data.

Using Big Data for Analytics

At the moment, market research and knowledge of trends is a slow and cumbersome process. RFID chips embedded into shopping trolleys or store loyalty cards will make it possible in the future to track a consumer’s progress around a store, noting items that are looked at, but not selected against those that are. This gathered data will build into a useful picture, enabling executives to pinpoint the most and least successful products. The ability to quickly and easily make changes to boost profitability can make an enormous difference; even the difference between a small or medium size operation being successful or going out of business.

Storing Big Data

The world is slowly but surely moving onto the Cloud and as the process is tested and found to be secure, it is certain that eventually almost all companies will make use of cloud technology to store information and data. There is a hope that as technology continues to develop at near light speed, databases will be more compact and not require so much cyber space, but it may be that more variables are taken into account to use up the newly freed space. Companies skilled in data management and storage are sure to be winners, if they can establish secure servers, with excellent speeds and availability they could potentially earn billions from the industry.

To summarise: is data the new oil? The truest answer, unsatisfactory though it may be is: Maybe! It is like the ‘new oil’ in that it is a potential money-spinner, and the profits that could be gained are enormous, for something that is not made or created by those profiting from it. However data cannot truly be owned, like oil can, and data is the ultimate renewal resource, something that it is possible to sell, and yet still retain. However the value of data is perishable, unlike ageless oil, and can become obsolete. Another difference is the comparison is that different pieces of data can hold hugely different facts and figures, whereas oil is oil! Perhaps it would be better to leave the word oil out of the phrase and modify it to a simple ‘Data is the next big thing.’ It is possible, that as the industry develops, adapts and grows that we may have to invent an entirely new vocabulary to deal with this infant commodity and its enormous potential.