Gartner: Most Organisations Plan To Invest In Big Data, But Only Eight Percent Are Using It

Despite the fact that 64 percent of organisations have already invested or plan to invest in big data, only eight percent are actually reaping the benefits of large-scale analytics, suggests latest research by Gartner.

According to the US consultancy, the fact that companies don’t rush head-first into deployment could mean they are looking for real business value before launching expensive projects.

“It is interesting to note that understanding ‘what is big data’ is the top challenge for 15 percent of organisations,” said Nick Huedecker, research director at Gartner. “Organisations should be sure they are educated about big data opportunities in their industry to ensure they are not missing the boat.”

Experimentation

A survey of 720 IT professionals conducted in June 2013 showed that the readiness of businesses to spend money on big data is increasing, but they are still examining real-world benefits of the technology. Thirty percent of the respondents have already invested in analytics, 19 percent plan to invest within the next year, and an additional 15 percent plan to invest within two years.

According to Gartner, the companies currently spearheading big data adoption are found in media and communications, banking and services industries.

In both the 2012 and 2013 surveys, improving process efficiency and customer satisfaction were the top priorities for analytics projects. However, in 2013, some businesses are also experimenting with more innovative use cases: 42 percent are processing big data to develop new products and business models, and 23 percent are selling their datasets to third parties.

Typically, analytics projects start with knowledge gathering and strategic planning stages, which require little investment. This is followed by a period of experimentation, culminating in a proof of concept. Only when the project is deployed, it finally starts to demand serious investment.

“For big data, 2013 is the year of experimentation and early deployment,” said Frank Buytendijk, research vice president at Gartner. “Adoption is still at the early stages with less than eight percent of all respondents indicating their organization has deployed big data solutions. Twenty percent are piloting and experimenting, 18 percent are developing a strategy, 19 percent are knowledge gathering, while the remainder has no plans or don’t know.”

Last year, the greatest challenge facing companies that wanted to launch their own analytics projects was navigating the minefield of governance. This year, it’s getting value from their investment, followed by a lack of relevant skills.

And those skills are going to come in handy: earlier this month, MarketsandMarkets estimated that the global big data market will be worth $46 billion (£28.65b) by 2018.

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