Report: Big data seen as important, not yet used

A recent report by GigaOM and Logicworks found that while IT decision-makers are aware of the power of big data analytics, too much time and money is being spent keeping the data and not enough analyzing it for business purposes. The report recommended the cloud as a possible answer.

"Organizations are spending more time and money deploying and keeping big data architectures up and running than actually using the data to make better decisions," said Kenneth Ziegler, CEO of the surveying company.

The survey found that while IT departments are aware of big data's potential to deliver business value, they lack the in-house expertise to turn the unstructured data into insights that will help in business cases. The process of storing large amounts of data has many difficulties, with several industries having to comply with regulations such as the PCI DSS and HIPAA.

According to Enterprise Apps Today, predictive analytics will be the next major way that companies make their big data work. The source cited a Gartner survey of IT professionals that found the current low rates of predictive use is increasing as more decision-makers realize the value it can add. Predictive analytics can significantly help a company predict its future course and make safer decisions.