Big Data’s Business Value: MEI Technologies, Inc. Joins with Industry Leaders to Release First-Ever Big Data Recommendations for Federal Agencies

The TechAmerica Foundation today released their much anticipated report “Demystifying Big Data: A Practical Guide To Transforming The Business of Government,” which gives the federal government a comprehensive roadmap to using “Big Data” to better serve Americans.

MEI Technologies, Inc. (MEIT) and other experts from both industry and academia joined with the TechAmerica Foundation to form the Big Data Commission, which collaborated to demystify the term “Big Data.” This comprehensive and first-of-its-kind report defines key terms; explains the underlying technology in simple terms; and identifies best practices and lessons learned from early efforts.  The report also offers a set of policy recommendations and practical steps agencies can take to get started on Big Data initiatives.

MEIT served as a Commission Member and co-lead for the Case Studies Working Group in addition to participating in discussions and reviews with the other Commission working groups. 

“It was a distinct honor and pleasure to work with senior thought leaders from industry, government and academia on this report,” remarked Mike VanChau, vice president of cyber strategy and development. “The level of collaboration and professionalism involved in the Commission’s efforts produced such insightful and timely recommendations and guidance for not only initiating Big Data efforts, but also for continuing and iterating Big Data systems facing incredible challenges in the increasing volume, velocity and variety of data.”

 
“The Big Data commission is another example of the power to create change when the technology industry and government work hand-in-hand,” said Jennifer Kerber, president of the TechAmerica Foundation. “Big Data has the power to transform how government delivers services to citizens and it is one of the many new tools available to enhance our daily lives.  ”

Valuable input was provided by NASA and their efforts for supporting the National Archives with Big Data records management challenges.  These challenges range from increasing data warehousing and search capabilities to identifying how NASA’s human spaceflight imagery could be hosted online for public access.

“We gained insight on the incredible advances in medicine which is converging on the art of the possible with DNA genomics and personalized health,” said Van Chau. “The affordability of Big Data DNA genomics and new cloud-based solutions are enabling new ventures, such as AM Biotechnologies, to develop new therapeutics for targeted DNA sequences.  This report and the downloadable case studies and use cases define and describe the underpinning technologies used to derive these solutions.”

Complementing the Practical Roadmap and Key Policy Recommendations is the Business Value of Big Data, including:

• Improving decision-making and operational intelligence
• Increasing automation in compliance and reducing fraud and waste
• Innovating new business models and enhancing stakeholder value

The full Commission report can be found at:
http://www.techamericafoundation.org/official-report-of-the-techamerica-foundations-big-data-commission.    

The full list of Commissioners can be found at:
 http://www.techamericafoundation.org/big-data-commissioners.    

         
                 
For more information on the Commission and to download the case studies visit: www.techamericafoundation.org/bigdata.