Big Data. The buzz word of the coming years. And it’s not just buzzing. Big data management is becoming a business imperative.

“Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data — so much that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. This data comes from everywhere: sensors used to gather climate information, posts to social media sites, digital pictures and videos, purchase transaction records, and cell phone GPS signals to name a few. This data is big data.” IBM

A blessing and a curse. Big Data will help prevent calamities, find cures for nasty diseases, improve and customise medicine, fight crime, and of course help analyse target group behaviours in an unimaginable way. But as long as we do not know how to manage, analyse and process these enormous amounts of data, they present a bit of a burden.

Enter: the Data Scientist. This week Harvard Business Review writes about this new breed. “It’s a high-ranking professional with the training and curiosity to make discoveries in the world of big data.”

A scarce type of people. And the scarcity will only increase once the recruiting race really kicks in. Now they are already working at large tech companies, online and open source services, and at smaller startups. Once the mainstream of companies and governmental organisations start realising that there are countless Big Data Opportunities, the data scientist will be tough to recruit.

So start thinking about hiring a lad or lady that knows how to deal with large amounts of data. And start designing processes to make use of data that is available around us and within your organisation. And turn it into a business asset. Or, be one of the smart startups that will make Big Data into Big Business. This is one boat you don’t want to miss.