SAS survey signals big data disconnect; only 12 per cent on board

Just 12 per cent of organisations surveyed are currently executing against a big data strategy in daily operations. The most common reasons others are not fully exploiting their big data:

• 21 per cent don't know enough about big data
• 15 per cent don't understand the benefits
• 9 per cent lack business support
• 9 per cent lack data quality in existing systems

For help getting started with big data, read the white paper Big Data, Data Governance and MDM about the business requirements for big data and the questions to ask along the way.

"The 12 per cent of organisations that are already planning around big data enjoy a significant competitive advantage," said Todd Wright, global product marketing manager for SAS® DataFlux® Data Quality. "SAS customers can harness the full power in their data with a comprehensive approach to information management. Our integrated solutions, tools, methodologies and workflows can enable organisations to manage big data as a valued asset, driving core operational processes and strategic decision making to increase competitive edge."

LACK OF DATA QUALITY, DATA GOVERNANCE HINDERS EFFORTS
Asked about the likelihood that their organisations would use external big data in 2014, just 14 per cent of respondents said "very likely," while 19 per cent responded "not likely at all." Specific concerns included data quality and accuracy, accessing the right data, reconciling disparate data, lack of organisational view into data, timeliness, compliance and security.

The survey found no real consensus on who owns the data management strategy, with responses ranging from midlevel IT personnel up to the CEO. This confusion likely causes additional challenges in data strategy development and execution.

ATOP THE DATA MANAGEMENT WISH LIST: DATA VISUALISATION AND DASHBOARDS, DATA PROFILING, SaaS
Most respondents call detailed data analysis a priority for supporting business decisions, along with increased internal reporting and information access. When asked what they want from data solutions, the number one answer was data visualisation and dashboards (73 per cent), data profiling (53 per cent), and SaaS (44 per cent).

Customer and product data top the data types collected by organisations. The types of customer data being collected to make decisions were business-to-consumer (66 per cent), end-customer data (59 per cent), citizen data (29 per cent) and patient data (23 per cent). The product data being collected for decision making included selling-side (62 per cent), buying-side (61 per cent) and MRO (40 per cent).

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROS MAKE DATA PAY
For additional findings, please download the 2013 Big Data Survey Brief. This online survey was fielded in December 2012 to information management professionals. The 339 respondents were screened for involvement with their organisation's data management tools and processes. The margin of error is +/-5.3 percent at 95 per cent confidence level for total sample.

"Big data or not, data management will help determine which companies thrive and which ones struggle in the years to come," Wright continued. French car centre network Feu Vert is one example. With 400 retail outlets in Europe, over six months, Feu Vert and SAS worked together to create a unique reference data hub using SAS DataFlux Data Management and SAS DataFlux Master Data Management. This project also established a customer data governance programme, improved customer data value and qualification, and helped reduce the cost per customer contact. Feu Vert is improving accuracy and quality of customer data as it secures a market leadership position.