In a survey of more than 550 companies worldwide, the IT consulting firm BARC has researched the use of big data analyses. According to the study, companies have come to the conclusion that big data can be used in an advantageous way with regard to many problematic situations.
Alongside the analysis of large data volumes, this also pertained to assessing data from various sources, faster and better analyses and sophisticated predictions. It also became clear, however, that big data analyses must be integrated into business processes by management: 61% of companies already using big data reported in the survey that managers have seized the initiative. Individual departments, however, were rather passive.
Nonetheless, there are measurable advantages as soon as the companies start using big data. For example, 69% of respondents stated that they could make better strategic decisions. 54% referred to an optimised control of operational processes, while 47% mentioned cost savings of an average of 16%. On average, the use of big data also led to a sales increase of 13%. If the data are divided according to the specialist departments, then big data analyses are currently primarily used in sales and marketing for the purpose of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the customer.
By contrast, the study identified a lack of professional knowledge (53% of respondents) and a lack of technical knowledge (48%) as arguments against the use of big data. Furthermore, it was determined that experts are hard to find in this field. Moreover, roughly half the companies cited problems with privacy and data security as obstacles.
The study Big Data Use Cases 2015 can be downloaded for free following registration with BARC (Source: BARC/rf)