Using global research infrastructure with big (commercial) data: Modelling consumer behaviour in China

The advent of globally distributed computing services and network access allows `big data´ on consumption to be used to model, explain and predict consumer behavior at resolutions that range from individual cities to whole countries. Given access to suitable infrastructure, the most significant challenge is to create conditions under which `Data Scientists´ may access and manipulate the required data whilst observing individual, national, and commercial constraints set by the type and location of the data. This paper draws on the experience of building the first Global Computing Grid to connect collaborating sites in three continents and describes the architecture of an embedded analytical facility installed within a Chinese commercial organisation that has enabled collaborative analysis of millions of consumer records. We report how this access has provided new insights into consumer behaviour within China ranging from testing strategic models of economic development to exploring `digital exclusion´ and the impact of migration on technology adoption.