Redefining the Concept of Big Data: A Ghanaian Perspective

Abstract

The world is on the verge of a data tsunami. Voluminous amounts of unstructured data are being generated using different technologies. To manage the huge amounts of data being generated, a new concept of ‘Big Data’ has evolved. The emergence of ‘Big Data’ is leading to real transformation in the business world. Governments and commercial enterprises on the African continent are beginning to take an interest in the use of technologies associated with Big Data for the analysis of enormous amount of data they currently generate and they wish to do so in real time. The advances being made in big data technologies have fuelled this uptake. Until recently companies in Ghana did not realize the utility of big data analytics due mainly to lack of knowledge and the limited penetration of these technologies. Increasingly, however, these companies now realize the difference in value that data analytics could make to their decision making process and to develop strategies that will give them competitive advantage. It has become clear to many of these corporate organizations that they are in possession of large volumes of data which, if properly analysed, can provide them with a wealth of knowledge to run their businesses more efficiently and productively. The analytic necessary to the understanding of these wealth of data are provided by big data technologies. This paper seeks to redefine the concept of big data and reviews its development, the potential impact that big that can have on a developing economy, the sectors of the economy of Ghana that stand to gain most from adoption of big data technologies and how these can be achieved. We propose that big data concept be defined more objectively by the use of a function. The paper shows how big data can be leveraged for rapid economic advancement. The paper additionally examines the investment prospects of adopting big data technologies for the economic environment of Ghana and some of the issues that organizations must resolve to successfully implement the technologies in Ghana.