| | DECEMBER 20168WWe are living in a world in which data drives almost every part of our lives. Every minute of every day, billions of bits and bytes of data from everywhere and anywhere are captured, stored, analyzed and ultimately utilized to influence human behavior in all sorts of ways and for all sorts of purposes. For example, our smartphones have and emit a unique identifier that is detectable and can be used to determine a person's real-time location. That data is then analyzed to generate actionable insights into our habits, likes and dislikes, and various interests and activities. That data can then be used to tailor messages specifically to that person. If that sounds too intrusive, then consider this from a more positive angle ­ this vast store of information also may be used to make dramatic and meaningful improvements to areas that make our lives, our businesses and our physical environments safer, more efficient and more service-oriented, spanning industries and geographies.Think about it: Our smartphone is also now our hotel room key, our car key, our credit card, our GPS map, our meteorologist, our travel planner. In order to do all this, a massive amount of data mining of the information silos in our lives must be tapped and consolidated. Take the retail industry for example. The simple act of searching for an item aisle by aisle is trackable by location-aware technology. This technology, in turn, can make sense of our route through the store, "understand" what it is we are shopping for; and suggest related or alternate products to facilitate our experience (and facilitate our expenditure of more money). Of Most businesses may now be defined as technology companies, with the need to gain access to data in real-time, and in a way that is meaningful, clear, and capable of driving faster business decisionsIN MY OPINIONMINE DATA BASED ON BUSINESS AND CONSUMER NEEDSBy Stuart Kippelman, SVP & CIO, Covanta Energy CorporationStuart Kippelman>
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