With the aim of harnessing the expertise of key stakeholders in hardware, networking and algorithms for the processing of big data, RETHINK big organized an initial working group meeting, hosted by the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Technical University of Madrid) on 18 and 19 September 2014. The objectives were to identify and discuss challenges across European big-data sectors, as well as to identify key strategists within each organization.

Prior to the meeting, participants were asked to complete a survey on challenges in the field of big data; the highest-ranking results were then used as the basis for the brainstorming sessions. The meeting itself attracted an impressive turnout of 70 participants from 49 organizations, 38 of whom were external experts identified by the project as being able to offer a valuable contribution to the debate. The balance between sectors represented by participants was firmly in line with the project’s objectives, with 19% coming from academic backgrounds or research institutions, 16% from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and 12% from large companies, as well as 2% from projects. A total of 14 countries were represented.

On the first day, following an introduction by the project coordinators and a keynote presentation by John Goodacre of ARM Ltd. and Anastasia Ailamaki of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), participants were split into small groups, each representing a different sector. Their task was to identify and evaluate a) challenges across European big-data application domains and b) technological advancements, prioritizing those which demonstrated most potential for improving big-data processing over the next five years.

With such a mix of participants, the potential for miscommunication was high, and the meeting therefore sought to establish a common language. To this end, a structured brainstorming method was used to facilitate communication across sector, disciplinary and cultural boundaries, while the discussions in small groups were intended to make everyone feel comfortable in sharing their perspective. Participants were asked to provide concrete, practical and measurable examples which were real rather than hypothetical, and to communicate them in objective, rather than subjective, language. The results from the lively, engaged debates that ensued were then shared in the plenary session at the end of the day.

Once these issues had been identified by groups of participants working in similar areas, on the second day hardware and software representatives were brought together in groups, with the aim of understanding the benefits and trade-offs of applying various technological solutions to these challenges. Participants were asked to prioritize some of the key problems facing Europe identified by the survey, before considering how Europe should respond to these issues and the timeframe required to do so. Once again, each small group presented its findings to the full assembly.

RETHINK big would like to thank all of the experts who attended for their contributions, which have been invaluable in taking the first steps towards the project roadmap.

Interested in participating in a RETHINK big working group? Find out more and contact the project coordinator – email: rethinkbig-coordinator@bsc.es  

More photos from the day can be found in our RETHINK big WG Meeting 18-19 September 2014 Flickr album

You can download presentations from the day below.