The art of Big Data on show in Sandton

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As part of this campaign, the company commissioned six young artists to produce works of art that depict Big Data as seemingly meaningless pieces that only make sense or come into focus, when technology is used to interpret the artwork.

For the piece titled 'Cloud', Kgosietsile Ramorola (20) uses a mirror and light to illustrate how Big Data tools can be used to make sense of seemingly meaningless information. "My idea is to use light from the top to get the image that you are looking for. So the mirror works as a Microsoft tool, taking the image or information that's at an awkward angle and displaying it on the wall in a clearer, bigger and easier to understand way."

21-year-old Njabulo Mziyane explains his train of thought in coming up with his artwork that will be titled 'Fly on the wall'. "I thought of how much data is used every day and decided to amplify the amount of data, by taking something small and making it seem a lot bigger. With magnification as the tool, it demonstrates how a small amount of data can make a huge difference."

"To most people and organisations, Big Data might be no more than an industry buzzword. People and organisations need to be made truly aware of the capability Big Data has to deliver the competitive advantage for businesses or empower consumers to do more with the data that they have, and ultimately empower them to transform their businesses," says Kelly Husband, Data Platform Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft SA.

"Technology has the ability to empower people and organisation to see the big picture from the masses of data that is out there. Not many people are aware of the power that technology has to manage big data, turn it into meaningful insights and show the big picture."

All six pieces of artwork form part of an exhibition at the Mr Price Court in Sandton City and will be on show during normal shopping hours between 19 June and 3 July 2015. Entrance to the exhibition is free.