IBM briefed policymakers today on how they can leverage big data to save money and address societal challenges. And the timing couldn’t have been better. Congress and federal agencies are trying to do more with less, and many are looking to a directive Obama announced in March, which allocates more than $200,000 a year to big data research and development projects.
Among other speakers, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR), and VP For IBM Research Dr. David McQueeney took the stage to explain the power of big data. Here are five of the most compelling data points from the event:
- We create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day–and this number will continue to grow at an exponential rate. About 90 percent of world’s data was created in the last two years alone.
- The amount of data generated per hospital will increase from 167 terabytes to 665 terabytes by 2015, due to the incredible growth of medical images and electronic medical records. Big data will help doctors make better predictions by leveraging huge amounts of clinical information.
- The GSA stands to save an estimated $15 million a year by reducing power usage at 50 of the agencies highest energy-consuming buildings, with help from IBM software and sensors.
- Over 70% of members of the National Center for Manufacturing Services (NCMS) believe increased adoption of advanced computing would lead to competitive advantages. Yet only 6% of small to medium manufacturers in the US are taking full advantage of high performance computing.
- The retail industry misses out on $165 billion in sales each year because stores don’t have the right products in stock. Big data could help them analyze sales trends and better predict their needs.
So what should policymakers do with this knowledge? They should push for public-private partnerships and research to better optimize industries. IBM announced one such partnership at today’s event. With the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, IBM will use high performance computing to help solve problems like improving our electric grid, advancing manufacturing, and discovering new materials. The data behind it is clear: big data can help the US compete.
Laura Greenback is Communications Director at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Public Policy team at @SIIAPolicy.