According to the latest research from Dell, big data projects have made a significant shift from their enterprise roots to midmarket companies across the globe. The report, focused exclusively on midmarket companies, found that 41 percent of respondents have one or more big data projects underway, with another 55 percent planning to start one in the “foreseeable future”. Moreover, the report also suggests that big data projects have become a critical decision-making factor for midmarket companies

Some key finding of the report are:

• 80 percent of survey respondents agree that they need to better analyze their rapidly expanding data collections. Among their top goals: Improve product quality, seize business opportunities and speed decision-making.
• 89 percent of respondents with a big data initiative in progress report significant improvements in company decision-making.
• Encouraged by early success, respondents expect big data budgets to rise from between $2 million and $5 million up to an average of $6 million in the next two years as companies invest more in hardware, software and training.
• The most valuable technologies for midmarket companies running big data initiatives are real-time data processing, predictive analytics and data visualization tools.
• 50 percent of organizations with a big data initiative in flight are satisfied with the quality and speed of their decision making, compared to just 23 percent among those yet to kick off a big data project.
• 49 percent of organizations with a big data project in progress are satisfied with their ability to improve product quality, compared to just 32 percent of those organizations still in the planning phase.

Although the report shows promising signs of how big data can help midmarket companies, it also suggests that there is room for growth. For example, managing data complexity is still considered to be a big obstacle for companies, with 40 percent of executives suggesting that the variety of new data types and structures poses a significant challenge. Additionally, the report shows that a large portion of the companies surveyed have not incorporated social media and other big data sources into their analytics.

Read the report here

(Image Credit: Andrew Mepham)