Big data’s potential pitfall

The big data phenomenon is impacting nearly every type of industry, making it crucial for businesses to effectively store and mine information. However, even the most tech-savvy staff members can run into problems when analyzing these large data sets, according to InfoWorld’s Bob Lewis.

Personnel with access to databases and various business intelligence tools may not mine data effectively. Lewis explained that it can be easy for staff members to produce statistics that look great on the surface, but this information can be wrong.

“Start with how easy it is to misunderstand what kind of data you have. Part of the point of big data technologies is that they’re more flexible and take less up-front planning and analysis than old-school IT reports or even not-quite-so-old-school data warehouses,” Lewis wrote.

Although big data may have some potential issues if businesses are not prepared, the IT trend is not going away anytime soon. According to a survey conducted by CompTIA, 36 percent of companies said they will implement big data initiatives in the near future. However, less than 40 percent of participants said they are familiar with these large information sets.