Failure to Launch: From Big Data to Big Decisions

Not long ago big data was all the rage, the trendiest concept in the world of business intelligence. Now, however, the hype appears to be fading fast, with few companies having realized the bottom-line benefits promised to them by various vendors from the undertaking of big data initiatives. This paper summarizes why velocity, variety and volume is not improving decision making and how to fix it.One of the key drivers of this gap between promise and the reality has been the shortage of effective and adequate human resources in the organizations to undertake such efforts. This vacuum has resulted in minimal actions being taken on the wealth of information big data has made available for the organizations, a core driver behind the failure of tangible impact being realized. Recent research conducted by IDG Enterprise suggests that organizations are facing numerous challenges due to this limited availability of skilled resources, with 65% indicating they are overwhelmed by the influx of data.The key to making big data initiatives a success lies within making the produced data more digestible and usable in decision making, rather than making it just ‘more,’ resulting in the creation of an environment wherein information is used to generate real impact. Put another way, the survival of Big Data is more about making the right data (not just higher volume) available to the right people (not just higher variety) at the right time (not just higher velocity).