Humanizing Big Data

HUMANIZING Big Data continues to spark excitement, but most businesses are still searching for a way to get value from it. It is often analyzed in isolation from other meaningful DATA sources of information and has been the exclusive domain of scientists. What is required to make more informed strategic decisions that take advantage of Big Data and thus get more value from it? The Economist Intelligence Unit, in research sponsored by Alteryx, surveyed businesses on this topic-let's take a look at the results. More employees need access to Big Data to make informed decisions. 45% did not feel that they had enough Big Data in the last major business decision they made. More employees need access to Big Data in order 77% to make more informed decisions. say more employees need access to Of those, 76% agree that adding more sources of data would have helped ensure a positive business decision and outcome. Big Data. Sharing more data across the organization drives more effective decision making. The data source itself is not the problem, but rather, it is the gap between that source and the people involved due to lack of access and/or lack of ability to understand the data. One respondent noted: "It's about access but also understanding, we all need to get better at amalgamating and analyzing disparate data sources." Over the next 3 years, 53% of companies anticipate increased investment in expanding Big Data decision capabilities to more employees. Big Data Analytics drive new market opportunities and customer retention. The most important outcomes if Big Data capabilities were expanded to more employees: 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Better decisions are being 63% made faster Top types of business decisions that would benefit from the inclusion of Big Data: Identifying business opportunities that were not previously apparent 45% C Identifying opportunities and exploiting them faster 37% 66% 55% D Planning scenarios with greater confidence Market Opportunity and Segmentation 31% Customer Retention They both point to the need to better integrate market and segmentation data. Top job functions ranked by lack of Big Data capabilities or limited data systems: These responses showcase that customer service and new market opportunities are the greatest areas for growth and potential benefit from Big Data. Top job functions ranked by greatest potential benefit from data capabilities: Customer Service Customer Service Human Resources Marketing Strategy and Business Developement General Management Strategy and Business Developement General Management 28% 28% 32% 40% 41% 41% 33% 27% 3. Big Data is most valuable when analyzed in the context of market and customer data. Big Data types most beneficial for strategic decisions: Internal Databases Competitive Inteligence Data most useful to analyse in conjuction with new sources of Big Data: External Website Content Customer Segment Data Social Media Content Market Condition Models and Data Internet-Connected Device Data Sales Results and Forecast Data 39% 34% Location-based Data Internal Customer Data 34% 21% Internal Log Files Third Party Market Data 39% f Sale Data 37% RFID Data Point 30% 19% Sensor-Generated Data 17% Combined, Big Data and other sources of market and customer data can drive better market analysis and improved customer intelligence. 118% 18% believe that the most important outcome from expanding big data capabilities to more workers would be the ability to predict outcomes with greater accuracy – indicating an increasing demand for predictive analytics to be applied to Big Data. Not only is there a need for more relevant Big Data, but there is also the need for this data to be analyzed in combination with the appropriate traditional data. This, in addition to broader and better access for and empowerment of decision makers throughout the business, will allow Big Data to fulfill its purpose: assisting business leaders in making better decisions with the information they have. Source: alteryx "Big Data and The Democratisation of Decisions," an October 2012 research report by The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Alteryx. 51% of respondents work for companies who bring in over $500m in global annual revenue. / 48% of respondents hold a C-level title. / 14% of respondents hold a V-level title. The complete report is available at www.alteryx.com 66% 65% 54% 43% 61%