Is big data really here?

One of my earlier blog posts discussed Big Data in 2012 and its forecasted popularity throughout the year. The post explored how companies have the opportunity to take advantage of the market intelligence available to them, and if they choose to do so, how it will position them as leading the way for other sectors to follow. Now, comfortably sat in Q2, it triggered the question ‘have we really seen Big Data yet?’

Unlike other sectors, the financial market has had years of tackling colossal chunks of information. There’s no denying that Big Data is penetrating the financial marketplace, but it very much feels as though Big Data is still taking baby steps compared to what we could see in the next three to four years – and that’s when it will start to be both a challenge and a real opportunity.

The risk for the financial sector is prematurely assuming that we are in the stages of Big Data already, and as a result, analysing terabytes of data that won’t be of any real use to them. That’s not to say that it isn’t on its way. When Big Data finally arrives, its management will be difficult and organisations must plan for this. New solutions and niche players are emerging to start to help address the problem and to provide analysis and real business benefit, and with the major players aligning their strategies we see the market maturing. So, whilst the tools are emerging to cope with the flood of data the next problem may be having the staff in place to analyse and understand the information being provided. We may be able to cope with the volume of Big Data, deriving value from it requires a new, and different, mindset.

So, have predictions for this year been right thus far? The question mark that lingers over whether we’ve seen big data or not yet will remain until sectors, wider than that of the financial industry, is coping with information overload. Whatever the outcome, it is safe to say that the data already being processed is certainly a challenge.