With a proliferation of information has come the fragmentation of the tools and methods used to manipulate that information. That sentence may have put you off reading any further – but don’t be hasty reader because that is exactly how many people react to the notion of ‘big data’.

Big data may be the hipster’s du jour tech trend, yet for many it is a dull-as-dishwater subject best dealt with by somebody in a university surrounded by servers, microwave meals and a copy of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.

However, just as the presence of hipsters has annoyingly transformed rundown tranches of New York and London so big data is transforming our world.