Many arrays of numbers 0 and 1 in a dark blue background

“Big Data” refers to a technological phenomenon that has emerged since the mid-1980s. As computers have improved in capacity and speed, the greater storage and processing possibilities have also generated new challenges. New analytical tools, including the ones introduced in this course, have since been developed to solve these challenges in management of those phenomenally large data sets. (Image source: DARPA/public domain.)