Big data is an emerging phenomenon that has enormous implications and impacts upon business strategy, profitability, and process improvements. All service systems generate big data these days, especially human-centered service systems. It has been characterized as the collection, analysis and use of data characterized by the five Vs: volume, velocity, variety, veracity, and value (of data). This booklet will help middle, senior, and executive managers to understand what big data is; how to recognize, collect, process, and analyze it; how to store and manage it; how to obtain useful information from it; and how to assess its contribution to operational, tactical, and strategic decision-making in service-oriented organizations.

Big data is an emerging phenomenon that has enormous implications and impacts upon business strategy, profitability, and process improvements. All service systems generate big data these days, especially human-centered service systems. It has been characterized as the collection, analysis and use of data characterized by the five Vs: volume, velocity, variety, veracity, and value (of data). This booklet will help middle, senior, and executive managers to understand what big data is; how to recognize, collect, process, and analyze it; how to store and manage it; how to obtain useful information from it; and how to assess its contribution to operational, tactical, and strategic decision-making in service-oriented organizations.