Translating Big Data into Smart Data for Veterinary Epidemiology

VanderWaal, Kimberly; Morrison, Robert B.; Neuhauser, Claudia; Vilalta, Carles; Perez, Andres M.

The role of big data in veterinary epidemiology, and veterinary medicine more generally, has in some ways been inevitable from the beginning of the digital age, where data have become ever easier and cheaper to generate and store. At this point in time, we are at a turning point in terms of our ability to translate big data, which has existed for well over a decade, into smart data that create meaningful insights for animal health. Forward thinking is required to position our IT systems and workforce to harness the potential of big data. Indeed, from our perspective, big data should not be described as something that exists, but rather a capability. The real promise of big data is to create value out of disparate, chaotic pieces and extract real-time insights from data streams, thus creating a potentially revolutionary opportunity for veterinary epidemiology.