A big data survey conducted by MBN in 2013 has revealed some of the shifting attitudes toward big data in the industry.  Conducted with upwards of 135 companies, the trend appears to be towards integration of big data projects and initiatives.  “Surprisingly, some 93 percent of businesses with dedicated business analysts do not consider data analysts as part of their IT headcount. When explored as a whole, these findings point to an ever-increasing emphasis by businesses to embed data management and analysis throughout the business – getting data into the hands of many more users.”

Even though a vast majority of respondents already were using business insight tools of some form in their businesses, over half of these indicated that they would be further increasing their investment in this area.  The added expenditure seem to be less technological, but rather on the hiring side.  This augmented financial backing to the tech sector is also obviously correlated with an added expectation for return on the investment, which companies expect to see in the near future.   As the survey indicated:  “The vast majority of companies (92 percent) with dedicated data scientists and analysts have turned data into revenue. Among companies without dedicated analysts, less than 30 percent have successfully converted data into revenue.”

Aside from generating a revenue stream, the attitudes and implementation suggest there are other added benefits to adopting some form of big data strategy in a company.  According to the survey, “93 percent of respondents reported that using data has helped them make informed business decisions.”

This implementation of big data to analyze trends and draw more information-based conclusions about the best course of action for a business is only going to increase in future.  As the current obstacles and flaws with regards to storing and most effectively analyzing the massive quantities of data on hand are removed, big data will become the crux of all business insights and decision making processes.

(Image Credit:  Marja van Bochove)