Perspective on Big Data

The Government Big Data Forum was held in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 2012. The conference brought together government thought leaders and industry experts to discuss best practices around Big Data technology, trends and issues, and focus on lessons learned regarding the successful implementation of Big Data analysis for mission needs. The keynote by Gus Hunt, the CTO of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) "Perspectives on Big Data Mission Needs" was spectacular and worth taking the time to watch.

Mr. Hunt is responsible for setting the strategic technology direction to enable CIA's missions, for driving the rapid insertion and adoption of new capabilities to keep pace with technology change in the commercial sector, and for engaging actively across the Intelligence Community (IC) to share and communicate IT solutions. After discussing their approach and mission, Mr. Hunt outlined the four big bets the CIA is making in technology:

• Big Data 
• Operational Excellence
• Serving CIA by serving entire IC
• Managing Talent

These big bets are backed by their Key Technology Enablers:

• Advanced Mission Analytics
• Enterprise Widgets and Services
• Security as a Service 
• Enterprise Data Management – the Data Harbor
• Cloud Computing

The presentation is below:

Perspectives on Big Data Mission and Needs Gus Hunt CIA CTO