by Angela Guess
Bernard Marr recently wrote in Forbes, “I’ll admit it: Big Data is not my favorite term. It really trivializes and summarizes the trend too far, creating misconceptions and misperceptions of what this incredible shift in our technology, culture and world actually is. Despite the fact that I bill myself as a “big data” expert, I wish we could come up with a better term. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you’re not alone. Here are five of the biggest misunderstandings about big data I see regularly.”
Marr goes on, “(1) You ignore big data. Bad move. Data and the ability to turn data into business value will become increasingly important in any sector within a few very short years. In business, information is power, and big data is providing information we couldn’t have dreamed of collecting or analyzing just a few short years ago. Practically every field and every job within them, from untrained hourly worker all the way up to professionals, can expect the business landscape to be changed by data in the near future. Ignoring it is sticking your head in the sand; this is a trend that is not going away.”
His list continues, “(2) You think big data is about data. Interestingly, it is not; it’s about what you do with it. I’ve long argued that simply collecting data or even analyzing it isn’t the end game of a big data strategy. Instead, it’s about how you use the information you glean from the data. It’s about the processes you improve, the decision making you enable, the business value you add. Data for data’s sake is meaningless. Without valuable interpretation and smart implementation, big data projects are a costly and ridiculous waste of time.”
Photo credit: Flickr/ uyht