From: Digital Reasoning
Leaders in the business world have pinned large hopes on big data analytics and the systems needed to support powerful new information-driven insights. Now, according to a report by CIO, those IT officers need to back up those words with actions or, more specifically, funding. Unstructured data analysis could transform a company if made a priority or fall by the wayside if ignored. Companies that take the latter path, however, may find themselves dangerously out of step with business processes in general.
Persistent worries
The CIO survey delved into the concerns IT professionals feel when faced with big data processing. The most prominent worry was a simple lack of budget attention, followed by several deficiencies which could be caused by lack of focus and money from leaders. Respondents noted that data quality is sometimes insufficient and projects often take too long to complete to their satisfaction.
The source presented NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an example of an organization attempting to contend with a new need for big data. The lab has already begun processing large information sets but, according to CIO, has had problems finding staff with the proper skill sets to maximize efficiency. Lack of experienced labor was another commonly-expressed worry. JPL tech leader Tom Soderstrom told the news provider he is in the process of assembling a specialized team of data scientists to keep the lab’s systems operational.
“They need to know programming, statistics and how you visualize and communicate data… and most of all, how to understand the domain of that data,” Soderstrom explained.
Tech’s potential
Despite persistent problems with big data, companies have high hopes for its success. Respondents to the CIO survey overwhelmingly predicted big data would soon be a regular part of company operations. Nearly half of respondents stated it would soon be prominent in two or more business areas. Only five percent predicted big data would soon fade from the tech scene, despite its role among the “hyped” technologies, a sometimes dubious distinction.
Quality efforts
One of the lesser problems cited by CIO survey respondents, data quality problems, could end up becoming an enormous headache for business users of unstructured information. According to the Harvard Business Review’s Thomas Redman, weak data quality can scuttle every step of an information usage plan. He predicted that firms with low integrity in storage systems will have trouble with all of its uses, from discoveries to planning and securing return on investment.
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