By Huang Xian & Lu Zhongzheng

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Big Data： From High in The Clouds to Close at Hand

By Huang Xian & Lu Zhongzheng

When thinking of big data， we tend to associate it with large computing processes like the cloud and mass storage. However， at the 2016 China Big Data Industry Summit—which was held from May 25-29 in Guiyang， Guizhou Province， and is also known as the Big Data Expo 2016—big data became small.

In products on display at the conference， concepts of big data were applied to a variety of apps used on different devices that are closely related to our daily lives，as well as ones related to business development and urban management. Despite being an industry in its relative infancy， big data has already greatly changed the way people live.

More Convenience in Life

From making an appointment for measurements to choosing a dress style online，from designing a fabric pattern to paying for its production via smart phone， big data-based “internet+customization” has changed the garment industry's traditional business model.

Wang Danqi， Assistant Dean at the Kutesmart Institute of Technology， a technology-related educational institution，said that his school is working on using computing to ease the way clothing is manufactured. With pattern design replaced by precise computing， being your own fashion designer is not just a dream anymore.

Big data also applies to food safety.

“Scan the QR Code on agricultural products， and you will know both where the product comes from and what its growing environment is like，” explained a promoter at the Tsinghua Tongfang booth at the Big Data Expo. “There are also photos and videos available for food traceability.”

The Tsinghua Tongfang platform，which uses big data to track products from farm to table， has established partnerships with nearly 400 green agriculture bases nationwide， providing them with one-stop data services on farming， production， quality testing， transportation and marketing.

In addition to food safety， big data applications are transforming the healthcare industry. A smart glucometer nicknamed Doctor Tang was on display at an exhibition booth set up by Tencent， a Chinese technology giant. The instrument is designed to monitor glucose levels in real time as well as store monitored data. If users have any questions about their blood glucose level results， they can contact and consult with doctors via the app. They can also upload monitoring data to WeChat，China's largest instant messaging platform，in order to share results with friends and family.

In terms of products geared toward changing the way people travel， LeSEE，a kind of new energy vehicle， stood out. Eye-catching in its design， the vehicle uses cutting-edge self-driving technologies supported by big data， the technology for which can require computing as much as 10 terabytes of data in one day.

Also on display at the expo was a release of taxi-hailing app Didi Chuxing's new version for vision impaired people， which uses voice recognition technology to make it easier to hail a cab without needing to see the screen. Didi Chuxing has been a standout success in the Chinese app market， as average orders of its express and VIP services have now exceeded 10 million per day， making it the world's largest mobile transportation platform （outpacing Uber）.

Improved Business Development

Big data is a boon to businesses， which can view consumer trends and other data to streamline their development plans.

Huawei， another expo mainstay， gave visitors the chance to view a simulation of how big data technologies allow banks to carry out targeted marketing. First， the bank's marketing unit designates finding target customers to a background support group， who in turn sends data like customers' historical spending habits and other behaviors to FusionInsight， a big data platform developed by Huawei. ATher the data is analyzed， a list of eligible customers for specific marketing campaigns is submitted to the bank's marketing team. Compared to traditional methods of customer information searching and manual sorting， big data analytics allows firms a more comprehensive and accurate way to identify specific types of customers.

Big data has greatly changed the way of life of the Chinese people， in areas ranging from e-government to transportation

Also in attendance at the expo was the president of Beijing Founder Electronics， Yang Bin. Yang said most traditional companies focus too much on the production process， ignoring user awareness. Big data technology can help them balance both. Providing companies with accurate customer profiles and deep insights into customer needs can use core technologies to develop targeted advertising and effective social media marketing. Marketing forecasts are also available on big data platforms， helping company executives make better decisions.

Big data also lends a helping hand in optimizing allocation of resources in the logistics industry. Truck Alliance， a company based in Guizhou Province， is dedicated to matching empty trucks with shipments. There are more than 5 million related information posts gathered on its platform every day， shortening the distance trucks are forced to travel while empty by up to 10 million kilometers， significantly reducing resource waste.

“We are trying to connect truck drivers to load information so as to build a shared pool of truck transport capacity in China，”said Dai Wenjian， Truck Alliance's CEO.

Intelligent Urban Management

Urban management data， such as traffic jams， crowd density and air quality， can now be displayed on a giant screen through a platform developed by Beijing Digital Hail Technology， a firm which focuses on smart transportation， emergency response，urban management， public security and environmental protection. This provides policy makers in congested cities with much needed decision-making support.

“The smart city big data display platform for decision making gathers different types of data， including GIS， GPS， 3D building models， statistics， camera images，and so on，” said Digital Hail Technology Deputy General Manager Ding Dong. “It can integrate large amounts of information from sectors such as municipal engineering，police services， fire control， communications and commerce.”

Guizhou's e-government cloud platform is another example of how data gathering， data mining and analytics are utilized to improve efficiency. It differs greatly from traditional paper-based administration， allowing clerical workers to connect seamlessly with different branches of government， sharing information and integrating document processing across Guizhou's government. Currently， the city has opened 4，745 official portals for information sharing， covering all government departments at the provincial level.

If you are not stopped by any of the 20 traffic lights on your way home during the evening rush hour， it is not because you are lucky. It is because the traffic lights can think， thanks to big data and analytics.

Put into use in July 2015 and backed by AliCloud （Alibaba's cloud computing platform） Guizhou's e-government platform is the first of its kind to use such comprehensive data to change traffic flows. The platform converges information from monitoring cameras and 68，000 traffic lights， allowing traffic management staff to improve the entire road network of Guizhou.

China's big data firms are offering consumers and businesses alike ultra-modern products that make it easier to do everything from designing a dress to easing traffic congestion across an entire city.