Neil Armstrong, the American NASA scientist who was the first person to walk on the moon, once said, “I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer.” Not all employees at Praescient are Armstrong types. Praescient was founded by a group of former military leaders, software engineers and entrepreneurs who shared a common passion for analysis. Many of us have deployed to combat zones across the globe, others have fought corruption from the libraries of premier academic institutions, and still others have made their mark by going head-to-head with media moguls of Hollywood. We know who we are, like Armstrong, and are deeply committed to making a difference for organizations and people throughout the world by revolutionizing how data is used as a “force for good.”
Our modern era leans heavily on not only data, but “big data”. Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist and Associate Director at the MIT Center for Digital Business says, implies that it is how users leverage big data that enables decision makers and business leaders to improve lives, enhance our functionality, and effect change. “It comes from every interaction each of us has with the internet, and from industries such as life sciences” that provide avenues of exploration and application for organizations and government working with big data, which will ultimately provide users a competitive advantage.
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, advances McAfee’s perspective in his keynote address at the Google Ideas INFO Summit held this past July, speaking not only about big data but the power of connectivity. It is connectivity that serves as a dynamic “force for good”. As both McAfee and Schmidt say, the internet is what connects the world. Inherent in their insights is the understanding that harnessing the ability to connect technology and big data in order to address the biggest and most pressing challenges in society is what will not only enable leaders and decision makers to gain an advantage but also provide organizations and governments the advanced tools needed to proactively attack problems with tenacity and intellect in order to make a difference.