Table of Contents for

Big Data Analytics: Turning Big Data into Big Money

Acknowledgments

Take it from me, writing a book takes time, patience, and motivation in equal measures. At times the challenges can be overwhelming, and it becomes very easy to lose focus. However, analytics, patterns, and uncovering the hidden meaning behind data have always attracted me. When one considers the possibilities offered by comprehensive analytics and the inclusion of what may seem to be unrelated data sets, the effort involved seems almost inconsequential.

The idea for this book came from a brief conversation with John Wiley & Sons editor Timothy Burgard, who contacted me out of the blue with a proposition to build on some articles I had written on Big Data. Tim explained that comprehensive information that could be consumed by C-level executives and those entering the data analytics arena was sorely lacking, and he thought that I was up to the challenge of creating that information. So it was with Tim’s encouragement that I started down the path to create a book on Big Data.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the excellent advice and additional motivation that I received from John Wiley & Sons development editor Stacey Rivera, who was faced with the challenge of keeping me on track and moving me along in the process—a chore that I would not wish on anyone!

Putting together a book like this is a long journey that introduced me to many experts, mentors, and acquaintances who helped me to shape my ideology on how large data sets can be brought together for processing to uncover trends and other valuable bits of information.

I also have to acknowledge the many vendors in the Big Data arena who inadvertently helped me along my journey to expose the value contained in data. Those vendors, who number in the dozens, have made concentrated efforts to educate the public about the value behind Big Data, and the events they have sponsored as well as the information they have disseminated have helped to further define the market and give rise to conversations that encouraged me to pursue my ultimate goal of writing a book.

Writing takes a great deal of energy and can quickly consume all of the hours in a day. With that in mind, I have to thank the numerous editors whom I have worked with on freelance projects while concurrently writing this book. Without their understanding and flexibility, I could never have written this book, or any other. Special thanks go out to Mike Vizard, Ed Scannell, Mike Fratto, Mark Fontecchio, James Allen Miller, and Cameron Sturdevant.

When it comes to providing the ultimate in encouragement and support, no one can compare with my wife, Carol, who understood the toll that writing a book would take on family time and was still willing to provide me with whatever I needed to successfully complete this book. I also have to thank my children, Connor, Tyler, Sarah, and Katelyn, for understanding that Daddy had to work and was not always available. I am very thankful to have such a wonderful and supportive family.