TURNING BIG DATA INTO BIG OPPORTUNITY

The big data expert engaging the audience with his encyclopedic knowledge

The big data expert engaging the audience with his encyclopedic knowledge

PENANG, NOV 25, 2015 - What if big data has the power to predict the future? Would we be able to predict everything - from business patterns to weather changes to deadly disease outbreaks? This is the point raised by Dr Yeo Kwok Shien, a distinguished data expert from ICONIX, in his speech to the engineering community at the 33rd Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (CAFEO 33). Speaking to an audience of mostly professionals, Dr Yeo shared his pearls of wisdom on topics as diverse as Twitter posts and dengue cases. He gave an overview of the state of the big data field, the tools available to handle it and the current challenges faced by the industry. The meat of his presentation dealt with the idea of data growing so large that it can no longer be analyzed using traditional ways, but requires the use of avant-garde tools and softwares. Data generated from day-to-day activities such as social media surfing, business and financial transactions have grown into a vast and impenetrable ocean. In the endless sea of data, it is easy to get lost and confused but Dr Yeo offered a few solutions and alternatives to address this problem. Despite the challenges faced in capturing, visualizing, storing, and searching for data, this field has always been attractive to businessmen and scientists looking to unlock the potential of big data for big returns. The opportunities presented by big data are very relevant and beneficial to our day-to-day living. Dr Yeo, who is also the Technical Manager of ICONIX, vowed the audience with impressive case studies such as the Sentiment Analysis on Twitter Tweets and Prediction Modeling on Dengue Cases in Johor Malaysia. These cases studies showed the practical application of data analytics and the ways it could improve our daily life. In the Q&A session of the talk, prediction modeling proved to be one of the hottest topics brought up by the inquisitive crowd of engineers. They were interested to know about the applications of prediction modeling in various unconventional scenarios. With more than 7 years of experience in data analytics under his belt, Dr Yeo handled the Q&A session with gusto. He showed how crucial it is to understand the impact of big data application on our daily lives with the increasing dependency of modern humans on pure information.

In short, the big data industry is a window of opportunity that can be capitalized to yield endless rewards to the average Joe on the street, and not just to scientists or experts. The master of data is also the master of future. ICONIX would like to thank the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) for hosting this event at the Equatorial Hotel Penang and providing this platform to share knowledge with the engineering community. As a firm believer in the human potential to seize the day, ICONIX is proud to be able to spread the awareness of big data insights on our daily existence and its power to change lives.