Information: gosh, it’s powerful stuff.  In today’s high tech, high speed world, it’s data that drives the wheels of commerce; data that lets airlines discover that the single most reliable signal that a passenger is actually going to turn up for the flight they’ve bought is the booking of a vegetarian in-flight meal! Well, at least it is according to a special report in last week’s Economist.

But data is getting big – too big to even get your head around in some cases. So, dear reader, here’s the Economist’s guide to units of data, which I found most intriguing. Have a look, familiarise yourself with them and then try dropping the term ‘zetabyte’ into your next management meeting and seeing the look on your colleagues’ faces. For more information (see what I did there?) you can read the full article here.

Units of data, courtesy of The Economist

Written by Adrian Beeby