College of Graduate and Continuing Studies webinar, Army ROTC information session usher in spring semester’s first week
Market watchers might say data’s future starts with z, as in zettabyte. That mind-bendingly huge amount of data portends a blindingly bright future for data managers.
The College of Graduate and Continuing Studies will explore that future in a webinar Tuesday.
Framingham, Massachusetts, market research giant International Data Corp. has forecast that the global datasphere — all data created, captured or replicated — will reach 175 zettabytes by 2025.
All that capacity includes data from private and public information technology and utility infrastructures, private and public cloud data centers and personal computing devices — desktop and laptop computers, tablets and smartphones — and “internet-of things” devices. IDC forecast the capacity, a jump from an estimated 23 zettabytes in 2017, would help bring autonomous vehicles, robots and other devices on line.
The “Big Data is Getting Bigger” webinar will address how prospective data science professionals will need to broaden skills to succeed.
A zettabyte is a billion terabytes; a terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes. (The Library of Congress is estimated to include 10 terabytes of text.)
Buckinghamshire, England, think tank Bernard Marr & Co. calculates that if 175 zettabytes were stored on digital video discs, the stack would be long enough to circle Earth 222 times. If each gigabyte in a zettabyte were a brick, 258 Great Walls of China (made of about 3.9 trillion bricks) could be built.
All this data will leave businesses lots to analyze and give the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies lots to discuss in its hourlong webinar, “Big Data is Getting Bigger: Careers in Data and Business Analytics,” running from 2 to 3 p.m.

The webinar will address how prospective data science professionals will need to broaden mathematics, computer science, critical thinking and problem-solving skills to succeed. Panelists will include Dan Alcorn, manager of the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies’ Bachelor of Science in Management Studies and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration programs; Dr. Ahmed Hamed, an assistant professor of data science who is developing data analytics courses and data analytics concentrations for several majors; and Dr. Mark Parker, an associate professor of interdisciplinary studies and the associate dean of continuing studies.
Parker will moderate discussion. Topics will include the data deluge’s effect on business; programming’s role in data and business analytics; resources to help data analytics students succeed; and projected demand for data analysts.
International Business Machines Corp. in 2017 projected that U.S. jobs for data and analytics would increase by 364,000 openings, to 2.7 million by 2020. That number represented just 2% of the projected demand across all job roles requiring data and analytics skill, the Armonk, New York-based company added.
Josh Sullivan, vice president at McLean, Virginia-based consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, foresaw the data jobs boom in 2014, telling U.S. News & World Report, “Data is the new oil. You have to refine that oil and get it into a format so that you can make decisions.”
Click here for details on the “Big Data is Getting Bigger” webinar.
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BACK TO BOOKS: Classes resume Monday on remote channels for the spring semester. Return dates for students coming back to campus will run Friday through Jan. 18. Details are here and on norwich.edu/psa

VIEW FROM AFAR: Norwich’s Residence Life Office will offer “Students Who Studied Remotely Fall 2020,” a webinar from 1 to 2 p.m Tuesday. Students will share experiences and offer tips. Click here for details.
HELLO THERE: The Admissions Office will hold “Introduction to Norwich” webinars from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 9 to 10 p.m. Wednesday. Officials will take questions and discuss academics, financial aid; scholarships; athletics; clubs; and Corps of Cadets and civilian student life. Click here for details on Tuesday’s webinar and here for details on Wednesday’s webinar.
ARMY ROTC: Two Thursday webinars will discuss U.S. Army ROTC at Norwich. Students can have their questions on programs, training and protocols answered. Click here for details on the 6 to 7 p.m. session or here for details on the 9 to 10 p.m. session.
GAME ON: The Campus Activities Board will present “Online Game Challenge: Minecraft Winter World” at 9 p.m. Friday. Players can square off in this game, in which users deploy building blocks, on-site resources and their creativity to create virtual worlds and experiences. Click here for details.
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For a complete listing of upcoming Norwich University activities, click here.
EXPLORE:
- School of Cybersecurity, Data Science and Computing
- College of Graduate and Continuing Studies
- U.S. Army ROTC at Norwich University
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