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What Does Big Data Mean to You?

Luc Burgelman – October 1, 2014

As CEO of a big data company, I am consistently interacting with various data professionals—analysts, vendors, thought leaders, customers—on the latest happenings in the data world. While we converse on everything from data management and data governance, to analytics and business intelligence, the one area that no one seems to agree on is what big data is, and what it means.

What prompted me to write this blog were two recent articles I read in Forbes and Information Management, respectively.

Let’s start with Forbes. Reporter Gil Press (@GilPress) compiled a list of 12 big data definitions, citing everything from the Oxford Dictionary and Wikipedia, to NASA scientists and McKinsey & Company research. For the most part, these organizations define big data as a mix of the following:

  • Data of very large size that presents management challenges
  • Beyond a database’s ability to processes and manage
  • A shift of consuming to creating data

Meanwhile, Ventana Research’s Tony Cosentino (@TonyCosentinoVR) warns that “defining big data by the ‘three Vs’—volume, velocity and variety—turns into a very technical discussion and encourages organizations to focus instead on the decision-making process to find the most value from the data.”

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Now, I could cite a myriad of additional suggested definitions, but at the end of the day, there is no ‘one’ definition to big data. As outlined above, data means different things to different people. Data doesn’t change and never has—it’s just that the amount and the speed of it are growing, and it’s challenging companies to find ways to derive real business value from it. So instead of debating on its definition, the conversation should focus on how to use and make the most out of data.

As data continues to grow, companies need to adapt—this means working differently and rethinking their strategy. As evident in the Forbes article, big data can present management challenges, so it’s important for companies to change their mentality and become more data-driven. After all, data is what runs an organization and helps fuels faster, better business decisions.

And now we have the tools available to redesign your business strategy and enable you to think about new service models…models based on a new data-driven approach.

Amazon is a great example of a data-driven company. Amazon effectively uses all of its customer data (and there’s a lot of it!) to create personalized experiences that result in brand loyalty and increased sales. Other companies should emulate the approach Amazon has taken—focusing on creating a good customer experience by using all of the data they already have.

What big data definitions are you seeing? How do you make the most out of your data?