We are not Ready for Big Data

Organizations are investing in big data. While the benefits can be promising, many organizations are not able to realize these benefits. These organizations are not able to effectively analyze and apply the data to make meaningful changes to yield the improved performance. In other words, these organizations are trying to run before they can walk.

I came across another good article on big data that provided some insight into the challenges organizations face in using data. The key is that before even attempting to adopt big data practices, organizations must first be able to use data. There are plenty of benefits to using existing data. Organizations that are able to successfully apply evidence-based decision making tend to be more profitable and follow a few best practices. These practices include:

• Use a single and agreed upon data source across the organization
• Provide ALL decision makers near real-time information to make changes at all levels of the organization
• Define business rules and use data to continually evaluate and redefine business rules
• Include coaching as part of the transition to a data-centric decision making approach to help decision makers effectively use data and develop new data-centered habits

This is not to say that big data won't deliver results. Rather, organizations must first become proficient in analyzing and applying data before investing in larger data practices. If the organization cannot make changes based on existing business intelligence tools and data warehouses, they certainly won't be able to extract value from the big data investments.

Organizations must first adopt evidence-based decision making practices before investing further in decision making systems like big data initiatives.