The ISC Events team is featuring this interview on Big Data with Dr. Felix Wortmann from University of St. Gallen and Scientific Director of the Bosch Internet of Things Lab. Wortmann will be a keynote speaker at the ISC Big Data'13 conference, which takes place Sept. 25-26 in Heidelberg. Learn more: http://www.isc-events.com/bigdata13 For related topics, check out http://insideBigData.com

1. Press Release
For immediate release (August 7, 2013)
ISC www.isc-events.com
Organizer of the International Supercomputing Conference, ISC Cloud and ISC Big Data: Prometeus GmbH | P.O. Box 1107 | 74913 Waibstadt-
Daisbach | Germany
1/3
Big data is real, but is it the transformation technology that some claim it
is? In the opening keynote of the ISC Big Data'13 conference in
Heidelberg, Germany (September 25 – 26), Dr. Felix Wortmann offers his
perspective on the big data phenomenon sweeping across the IT
landscape. No stranger to the hype cycles of the computer industry,
Wortmann, a former exec at SAP, is currently an assistant professor at the
Institute of Technology Management, University of St. Gallen and the
scientific director of the Bosch Internet of Things. We asked him to
preview some of the themes of his upcoming keynote.
1. Data analytics and databases have been around for decades. How is big data different?
FW: Indeed, in the last 20 years companies have heavily invested into data analytics
infrastructures. The corresponding business intelligence and data warehousing initiatives have
addressed information needs of the whole enterprise, including production, sales, marketing,
service, and finance. However, these data platforms mainly focus on internal well-structured
data. Moreover, these infrastructures have inherent performance and latency constraints. Big
data technology now offers new possibilities regarding data volume and speed of analysis.
Moreover, there is a shift of focus on external and unstructured data. This shift goes beyond
technology. Companies now have means to better understand and interact with their
environment, for example, customers, competitors or partners.
2. What do you see as the enabling technologies for big data?
FW: Big data is often associated with technologies like Hadoop and NoSQL. Moreover, main
memory databases are heavily discussed. Overall, there is a very fragmented market of
available big data solutions. If you take a step back, these solutions have one common
denominator. They all leverage the potential of today's hardware. Computing has changed
fundamentally over the last 20 years. Basic ingredients of computing like processing power,
memory, and networking bandwidth remain the same. However, multicore processors, main
memory instead of disk, and high-speed networks have not been taken as the basis for
software design 20 years ago.
3. Do you think this set of technologies will deliver the disruptive innovation that many
proponents are promising?
FW: We definitely have seen disruptive innovation on the basis of big data. Just think about
the large internet companies. However, if we talk about bringing big data technologies into
other domains, we can be very optimistic, but should be careful. More data and low latency

2. Press Release
For immediate release (August 7, 2013)
ISC www.isc-events.com
Organizer of the International Supercomputing Conference, ISC Cloud and ISC Big Data: Prometeus GmbH | P.O. Box 1107 | 74913 Waibstadt-
Daisbach | Germany
2/3
do not directly translate into additional business value. To facilitate disruptive innovation and
new business models, you have to bring together business opportunities as well as IT
capabilities. Therefore, business and IT have to collaborate and rethink how business is done
tomorrow.
4. We often hear about these technologies are being used to surreptitiously gather private
information -- the most recent example being the NSA PRISM program in the United States.
How do you think this affects the public's perception of big data?
FW: Privacy is a major concern, which has to be taken serious. And for sure, cases like PRISM
shape public's perception. However, people are willing to share data if they see a benefit.
Moreover, trust becomes a major business asset and companies start realizing this. Sharing
and exchanging information is a fundamental pillar of our information society. We definitely
need to reconsider existing practices from different perspectives. Furthermore, it will not only
be about regulation but also education and responsibility. Not only do enterprises and public
agencies have to follow “good practices,” the same holds true for the individual. Just think
about privacy issues around Google Glasses.
5. What comes after big data?
FW: Before jumping on the next big thing we should really harvest the business potentials of
big data. We do not only have to understand and deploy technology but also understand and
deploy value generating use cases. However, there are different fundamental developments
which will change how we life and how we conduct business. One of them is the Internet of
Things: The gap between the Internet and the physical world will diminish creating
tremendous opportunity. We definitely have to be aware of these fundamental changes.
About ISC Big Data’13
The inaugural ISC Big Data conference aims to bring together IT strategies, architects, CTOs
and CIOs to Heidelberg, Germany on September 25 and 26. This event is beneficial for
representatives, managers and decision makers from industry and research and their staff,
responsible for big data R&D and deployment within their organizations. The program is in
particular designed for people covering data analytics, data storage and data center
management, system architectures, systems and software engineering, big data software
tools, and specialists who are implementing and running enterprise, scientific and engineering
applications.

3. Press Release
For immediate release (August 7, 2013)
ISC www.isc-events.com
Organizer of the International Supercomputing Conference, ISC Cloud and ISC Big Data: Prometeus GmbH | P.O. Box 1107 | 74913 Waibstadt-
Daisbach | Germany
3/3
The conference is also meant for companies facing technological challenges in big data
hardware, software and algorithms.
Experienced big-data practitioners from big enterprises like Paypal, British Telecom, Virgin
Insights and Google as well as users will be sharing their case studies during these two days.
Visit the website for the full program.
ISC Cloud’13
If you are travelling to the ISC Big Data Conference, it might also be worthwhile to travel a
couple of days earlier to Heidelberg, for our fourth cloud computing conference, which offers
a line-up of new and advanced HPC Cloud topics, with a focus on industry case studies. These
will be presented by HPC cloud users and cloud service providers across industries, such as
digital manufacturing, and life sciences which includes healthcare. Click here for the full
program.
Registration
The registration is now open for both conferences and by registering early you can save up to
25 percent off a combo ticket. Don’t miss out!
PR Contact:
Ms. Nages Sieslack
Phone +49 (0) 621 180686 16
Mobile +49 (0) 178 18798 58
nages.sieslack@isc-events.com| www.isc-events.com