BIG Data Problems in the US Armed Forces

In terms of the military, most people only associate big data uses with upper level intelligence, battalion level and higher. This is, or at least quickly becoming a misconception. One obstacle to achieving intelligence flow down to platoon and even squad level is the current technology. Technology currently in use in the United States Army on the ground is surprisingly inefficient. The article mentions how soldiers come back from deployment to a cellular device with more advanced communications and global positioning technology than they used during their 10 to 14 month deployments. There are current testing methods trying to remedy this, but much improved technology will most likely not be available on a large scale for the foreseeable future. One proposal is the “rapid adoption of commercial wireless networks.”

The DoD has been focused on methods to collect data through programs such as Gorgon Stare, Blue Devil 2 and ARGUS so intently that key aspect to making this data useful is overlooked. The programs are producing data at sometimes a petabyte a day which is far beyond the amount that can be analyzed. Currently only about a third of the data will be analyzed. While we won’t be able to move that kind of data in the foreseeable future, we are creating technology that will pick out the more useful information.

Three different approaches are considered:

·         Increase on-board processing of data

·         Integrate analytics into data storage

·         Automated tiering of data storage

 

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2012/10/11458170/