Do people still believe in what Big Data is going to deliver to their organisations?
According to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) research paper, The Hype and the Hope: The Road to Big Data Adoption in Asia-Pacific, the answer appears to be 'yes'.
The Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) commissioned report found that 70 per cent of surveyed business executives remain confident in that they will receive a return on Big Data investments.
HDS APAC senior vice-president and general manager, Neville Vincent, said local businesses seem upbeat about the technology improving revenue, profits, and productivity.
“In Australia, 25 per cent of respondents expressed a strong opinion that Big Data will deliver an increase in revenue and forecasting accuracy,” he said.
As for what Big Data means to Australian businesses, Vincent said the opinion of the technology is just as diverse as the various industries engaged for the report.
“What clearly came out of the survey is that Big Data means different things to different people,” Vincent said.
Frontline to blame
Despite the enthusiasm, nearly over half of respondents admitted in the survey that they had made little or no progress around Big Data.
Vincent attributes this result to “high expectations and different interpretations, but no progress.”
“Where there was progress, people said it was poorly communicated,” he said.
91 per cent of respondents said it is an internal problem, with the brunt of frustration levelled at frontline management.
“Only 19 per cent said they can get what they want, which is quite an alarming statistic for a lot of executives that believe they have a Big Data strategy,” Vincent said.
“By the time it gets down to frontline management, it has typically fizzled out in effectiveness.”
Patrick Budmar covers consumer and enterprise technology breaking news for IDG Communications. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_budmar.
