What is Big Data, Anyway?

(Smart Planet, 21 February 2012)

In Brief: Big data is getting bigger, but challenges loom: Definitions vary. Software is still being written. Most of the companies trying it keep their spending confidential.

Our View: One major hurdle for practitioners of big data is the lack of employees who have the necessary analytic skills. As companies invest eight- and nine-figure sums to derive insight from information streaming in from suppliers and customers, fewer than 40% of employees can actually do so. To make better data-driven decisions, leaders should improve their personal and organizational capabilities by focusing on the following four activities: 1) develop more informed skeptics, 2) challenge your own biases, 3) take ownership of your information, and 4) make information usable.