Download Understanding big data adoption and motivation in the UK

Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
This expert e-guide uncovers findings around the
Contents
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
Whitehall could save
£33bn with big data
analytics, says Policy
Exchange
Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
current state of big data technology adoption and what
business drivers are motivating investments for the future.
Government departmental information is discussed as an
example where huge savings could be made by applying big
data analytics. You will also learn how a lack of advanced
analytics skills in the UK threatens to hinder big data
programmes.
Customer understanding drives investment in big data
analytics
Gaining a better understanding of customers is the main motivation for big
data programmes.
This is one finding from a SearchDataManagementUK survey of 184 UK and
continental European IT and business professionals who are primarily
engaged with data matters.
The survey, carried out from July to September 2012, indicates the state of
big data technology adoption, but also brings out the business drivers for big
data programmes.
The survey ranged beyond big data, and revealed that organisations are
investing significantly in data management and business intelligence more
widely.
Some 56% expect to spend more on business intelligence (BI) and analytics
over the next year, and 43% are keen to spend more on data warehousing
and analytical databases.
Nevertheless, a 27% planned increase in big data technologies is
noteworthy, given these are still in the early days of adoption. Some 23% of
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Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
respondents already have big data programmes, of whatever stage, in
development.
Contents
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
Business growth, organic or by acquisition, emerged as the main driver in the
growth of data volumes. Gaining better customer understanding is expressed
as the main motivation for big data programmes (50%), and organisations
see big data as way to gain competitive advantage (48%).
Whitehall could save
£33bn with big data
analytics, says Policy
Exchange
Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
Social media data, much discussed in big data circles, is important,
according to respondents. Some 33% are looking to track sentiment towards
their organisations on social networks. But more important still is machine
data, with 38% seeking to make better use of sensor and log data to improve
operations.
Although the survey shows that big data is for real, advanced technologies
that pre-date the big data hype of recent years, such as data mining and
predictive analytics, are still ahead in adoption.
Currently 63% of respondents carry out data mining, 62% use predictive
analytics, and 48% use big data analytics.
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Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
Moreover, the days of relational database technologies are far from over.
Contents
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
Whitehall could save
£33bn with big data
analytics, says Policy
Exchange
Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
Only 20% of respondents said they find existing relational databases and
data warehousing to be inadequate for dealing with new forms of data, such
as video, images and social media data.
Structured data emerges as critical still. Its importance has not been eclipsed
by unstructured data, commonly said to comprise 80% of any organisation’s
data.
Whitehall could save £33bn with big data analytics, says
Policy Exchange
The government could save up to £33bn a year by applying big data
analytics to departmental information, claims a new report from think tank the
Policy Exchange.
The Policy Exchange estimated up to £22bn could be found by optimising the
running of departments; up to £3bn by reducing fraud and error; and £8bn by
collecting a greater share of unpaid taxes.
In its report, The Big Data Opportunity the Policy Exchange called for a
specialist Data Force unit to be set up in Whitehall to identify savings in tax
avoidance and benefit fraud, with an objective to find £1bn in its first year.
Chris Yiu, author of the report, said: “The Cabinet Office estimates that fraud
in the public sector costs taxpayers around £21 billion a year, £10bn lost to
errors and £7bn in uncollected debts.
"When you add up all that, looking for a £1bn in savings should not be too
hard.”
Yiu said the unit could be formed along the same agile model as the
Government Digital Service, which has a £22m budget or the Open Data
Institute which has a £10m budget.
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Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
Yiu acknowledged the £33bn figure was a top-end estimate, unlikely to be
reached, as it would require using advanced technologies across
Contents
government.
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
The Policy Exchange report suggested the Home Office could analyse airport
Whitehall could save
£33bn with big data
analytics, says Policy
Exchange
It added HMRC could collect more unpaid tax by accelerating the use of
Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
The Policy Exchange applied the methodology used in a report published by
queues in real time to anticipate bottlenecks and ensure enough desks are
open to cope with fluctuations in passenger numbers.
algorithms to mine data (including tax returns and third party data) and flag
cases that need to be investigated to ensure the correct tax is paid.
research firm McKinsey, which found European public administrations could
save up to €300bn.
Yiu said the report did not go into the details of how much or what big data
analytic applications the government would need to buy, with that money
potentially coming out of the budgets of individual departments.
Advanced analytics skills shortage stymies big data
programmes
A “critical” advanced analytics skills shortage is impeding big data
programmes. This is one finding of a research report from IBM and the Saïd
Business School at the University of Oxford.
Analytics: the real-world use of big data is based on a survey of 1,144
business and IT professionals from 95 countries and 26 industries,
conducted in mid-2012. Its five authors include Peter Tufano, dean of the
Saïd Business School, and Janet Smart, co-director of a research cluster at
the school.
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Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
Fewer than 25% of the survey respondents worldwide said they have the
skills and resources to analyse unstructured data, such as text, voice and
Contents
sensor data.
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
“While the hardware and software in these areas are maturing, the skills are
Whitehall could save
£33bn with big data
analytics, says Policy
Exchange
organisations doing big data start with a strong core of analytics capabilities,
Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
At a press briefing to launch the report, Smart said new business school
in short supply,” the report’s authors said.
However, in a press statement, IBM and the business school said 75% of
such as query and reporting and data mining to address structured data, and
67% use predictive modelling.
dean Tufano, formerly of Harvard Business School, has made data studies a
priority. A new data module is being added to the school’s MBA.
“Thousands of data scientists will be needed in the near future,” she said.
The skills shortage could mean UK organisations have recourse to
offshoring.
The report found that only 5% of UK and Ireland companies “are using big
data in the fullest sense”, and almost 70% are still operating at early stages,
in what the report calls “educate” and “explore”, rather than “engage”
and”execute”.
The report’s authors were surprised at what little effect social media has had
among respondents. Only 7% considered information from resources such
as Twitter feeds as big data that was worth analytical attention. They
speculate that the skills shortage might be causing companies to underutilise
social data.
Matin Jouzdani, a senior manager in IBM’s business analytics practice,
argued, at the press briefing, that natural language processing technology
used on Twitter feeds does promise “completion of the customer record”.
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Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
Indeed, nearly half the respondents reported customer-centric objectives as
their number one priority for big data programmes. More companies are also
Contents
seeing big data as a potential source of competitive advantage. Some 63%
declared for “competitive advantage”, compared with 37% in a similar 2010
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
IBM study, says the report.
Whitehall could save
£33bn with big data
analytics, says Policy
Exchange
technology] to support the business opportunity”.
Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
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The report’s authors make the common point that the most effective big data
programmes “identify business requirements first, and then tailor [the
They also offer as a new idea the addition of “veracity” to the traditional big
data Vs of volume, variety and velocity. By “veracity” (truthfulness) they
mean the “need to acknowledge and embrace uncertainty” in data, using
advanced mathematics, such as fuzzy logic.
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Understanding big data
adoption and motivation
in the UK
Contents
Customer
understanding drives
investment in big data
analytics
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Whitehall could save
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Exchange
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Advanced analytics
skills shortage stymies
big data programmes
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