A new conference surrounding the growing industry of Big Data in the corporate world will debut at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. StampedeCon is scheduled to begin on the first of August and feature speakers from big name companies, including Facebook, Nokia, and Monsanto.
The Big Data industry focuses on organizing and synthesizing the massive amounts of data created by companies online each day, effectively helping businesses to analyze the overwhelming pool of information and grow the company based on what they learn from it.
The conference has been organized by Gary Stiehr, group leader of information systems at Washington University’s Genome Institute. With StampedeCon, Stiehr is hoping to create both an affordable and centrally-located conference focused on an industry that is expected to grow to nearly $17 billion within the next few years.
“There was a recognition that a lot of people locally were excited about Big Data,” Stiehr wrote. “However, to get to a great Big Data conference, people often traveled from the midwest to New York City or California and paid $900 or more per conference pass.”
Stiehr said that he hopes industry professionals will see the growing utility of harnessing Big Data for their online companies, and that those already using Big Data will find new ways to help use the information to solve key issues. “I hope that entrepreneurs will see the challenges and associated opportunities that lie ahead in the BIg Data era and get started on solutions,” he said.
The organizer said that both the local and national response to StampedeCon has been great so far.
“The amount of interest has exceeded our expectations,” Stiehr wrote. “However, with the number of Big Data technologies and use cases coming into play, I am not surprised that there are a lot of people looking for a quality source of information and connections around Big Data.”
As for the future of the StampedeCon, Stiehr said he hopes that the attendees will help shape the topics and focus of conferences to come, growing alongside the industry of Big Data. “We want StampedeCon to grow to the extent that the attendees need it to,” he wrote. “We want to hear from attendees regularly so that we can incorporate what they need and continue to increase StampedeCon’s value for them as their journeys with Big Data technologies evolve.”
Passes for StampedeCon are currently on-sale for $250 a piece until July 22nd. After that prospective attendees will have to pony up $350 for late registration. Be sure to check out the StampedeCon website to find out more information about the upcoming event and its presenters.
