As eCommerce (eAnything for that matter), Web 2.0 and several other buzzwords have come and gone, one of today’s biggest tech/business buzzword is “Big Data.” While the term itself continues to gain momentum in the media (see the Google trends graphs below), the technology has not caught up with the hype and the hype is fading to the point that Gartner has placed it in the “trough of disillusionment”.
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Google Trends view of “Web 2.0”
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Google Trends view of “Big Data”
Even though the buzz is fading, companies’ attention needs to focus on the business value derived from analytics and Big Data. So, what does this mean for the enterprise considering a deployment of Big Data technologies such as NoSQL and Hadoop?
- Is it “Big?” – First, is your data and analytics project “big?” – In many ways, Big Data is really a misnomer. Big implies a large quantity of data, and while managing large quantities of Big Data is certainly a use case of many Big Data solutions, it really is only one. Data can be more than big; it’s fast, constantly changing and noisy. Technologies branded as Big Data can help manage these areas as well – from real time processing to fast storage and retrieval technologies; these technologies can help the enterprise adapt to “changing data.”
- Which Processes will Improve? – What are the areas of opportunity for additional data-driven insights in your enterprise? Both business and IT leaders need to take a hard look at the analytics initiatives they are spearheading. Will the additional insight coming from these new systems truly make an impact on existing business processes and transform them? Or, will they generate additional reports in managers’ inboxes that will go unread?
- What Return will the Project Drive? – As with any other major IT initiative, Big Data analytics projects should be tied to a tangible business outcome. Ensure the investment in both IT and in employees merits a positive financial return. Analytics for analytics sake benefits no one.
- “Think Globally; Act Locally”– Big Data initiatives can get big very quickly. As with any other analytics initiative, “eating the elephant” and building a robust Big Data platform with thousands of Hadoop nodes isn’t necessarily the right approach. Enterprises looking to make a play in the Big Data analytics space should look for quick wins and prioritize those plays which will deliver the most bang for the buck. Big Data analytics is a journey and no journey is successful if you cannot take a successful first step.
- Find Internal Champions and Build Buzz. Once you start gaining success with your Big Data initiatives, make sure you leverage those people whose processes you’ve influenced. Hopefully, their day-to-day jobs will be simpler, faster, more informed; fulfilling the prophecies of “Big Data.” Make sure you capture their testimonials as you look to move onto bigger opportunities as internal references are usually the most credible.
These five steps may not look too unfamiliar to most who have been around the analytics space for more than a few years. “Big Data” technologies do promise and have often delivered some revolutionary benefits to many firms who have deployed them. If firms can create simple, clear plans to implement the unique attributes of Big Data technologies, they will be well-equipped to deliver the benefits the current hype suggests.
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