IT Fundamentals: All About Data

We all live in an information economy and data, alledgedly, is the new oil. But how is it that ones and zeros, which are all computers have to work with, can represent everything from numbers through to your favourite films or the music for your “first dance”? How is so much data stored in datacentres (or the cloud)? How is all this data protected? And how can we put it to use to improve our decision making?

All these questions and many more, are answered in this course.

You may be thinking of starting a career in IT, or maybe you are already there but want to branch out. Or possibly, you just have a passing interest in technology and want to know more. This course has you covered.

Based on over 25 years working in the IT industry, and many of those spent teaching upcoming IT professionals, this course has beginners and more advanced practitioners in mind. The content is explained in plain language whilst covering some fairly complex topics. Rather than just sticking to an academic curriculum aligned to a specific exam, the approach is to take a more practical stance and share perspectives of someone who has been working in the industry for many years. I have also kept the scope of this course quite narrow. It is centred on data, what it is, how it is stored within datacentres and how it is used.

If you are thinking of pursuing exams, for example those offered by CompTIA, this course will get you started. It explains some key concepts, but is not restrained by the scope of any particular exam.

If you want to know more about the style of the course, feel free to take the taster modules. You can also see more of my work on my YouTube Channel – simply search for 2DeCipher. Here are some viewer comments:

• “This is by far the most clear explanation I have been provided with ever. Thank you!”

• “This is one of the best videos explaining hyperconvergence!”

• “Wow, so clarifying. Thanks a lot.”

• “Damn well explained! Awesome!”

So what’s covered in this course? Here is the breakdown:

Section 1: The basics of digital data

• Working with binary and Hex

• Digitization – Encoding

• Analogue to Digital Conversion – Audio and Sensors

• Analogue to Digital Conversion – Pictures and Video

• Lossless Data Compression + File Formats

• Lossy Data Compression

• Data Streaming

Section 2: Data storage technologies

• Storage Drive Types

• SPAMS – Characteristics of Datacentre Systems

• Redundancy

• Data Protection

• Direct Attached Storage (DAS)

• RAID 0 – Striping

• RAID 5 – Striping + Parity

• Hardware RAID

Section 3: Shared (Networked) Storage Systems

• Network Attached Storage (NAS)

• Storage Area Network (SAN) + Unified Storage

• Let’s Design a Unified Storage System

• Scale-Up versus Scale-Out

• Object Storage

• Hyper Converged

Section 4: Using Data: Analytics and Data Science

• What is data analytics – Part 1

• Data analytics Part 2 – False Insights

• Data Analytics Part 3 – Data Integration

• Predicting the future and other data science tricks

• What is Data Science?

There is so much more I could add whilst still maintaining focus on data but I wanted to get this out there. The great news is that once you are enrolled, you will get access to any future content. I am also open to feedback and ideas, so just let me know what you would like to see.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have access to the course materials?

You can view and review the lecture materials indefinitely, like an on-demand channel.

Can I take my courses with me wherever I go?

Definitely! If you have an internet connection, courses on Udemy are available on any device at any time. If you don’t have an internet connection, some instructors also let their students download course lectures. That’s up to the instructor though, so make sure you get on their good side!