This special section on big data will include four main articles and one a one-page introduction. The articles intend to introduce big data to the chemicals industry and answer the questions of what, why, how, and where do we go next.
Article-1: What is big data and why should the chemicals industry care?
• Big data means different things to different people and many, even in the chemical processing industries, are confused by the term
• Big data can be distinguished from regular data by the 4 Vs (volume, variety, veracity, and velocity)
• New analytic technologies will be needed to support big data
Article 2: Success Stories
• Success stories of using big data in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries
Article 3: How to implement big data in the chemicals industry
• Strategies to convince your organization when and how to take the journey into big data — how to get started, what information is needed to convince an organization that the journey is worth it, and challenges that may be met in gaining buy-in, as well as ways to overcome such obstacles
Article 4: How can the chemical process industries use big data to drive/guide business decisions?
• Ten critical challenges that must be addressed for big data to move forward in industrial contexts
• Emerging research paths related to addressing the 10 challenges