15 April 2015

Pedro Bados, CEO, Nexthink

Most talk around data these days is generally with regards to its sheer volume. The phrase “Big Data” means different things to different businesses depending on their own particular requirements. Definitions may be based on an organisation’s performance needs, on the type of data being analysed, or on the need for speed in processing and analysing accurate data to make better business decisions.

What is certain is that it is growing. A forecast by IDC suggests that the global Big Data and Analytics market will reach $125 billion this year.

The increased use of social media and mobile devices, combined with the burgeoning Internet of Things, will see higher volumes of increasingly complex data being generated across a range of industries in all regions.

But for those charged with analysing it to grow their business, the current deluge of Big Data can prove to be overwhelming. So much data is being generated, traditional analytics tools are being rendered useless and, as it continues to grow, new solutions will be required to help businesses manage the vast amounts of information flowing through every aspect of their organisation.

Insight from analytics

In addition to storing the huge amounts of data being generated, businesses need to consider the best way to analyse it and extract from it the information that will prove most useful to them.

For an organisation to understand everything that its end-users are experiencing, and to ensure business productivity, it’s necessary to employ a sophisticated IT analytics solution that will process the data generated from all end-user activities.

Such a solution will best help the organisation to sift through the information by offering features such as simple queries, a customised dashboard, meaningful reporting, and relevant and timely alerts.

Analysing the information generated by end-users will provide IT departments with the ability to analyse behavioural changes in real time, and instantly detect unusual or non-compliant activity. This insight will, in turn, improve agility across business functions and help organisations – and their employees – to achieve greater levels of performance and productivity.

Embracing the new wave

Many CIOs are already embracing a new wave of disruptive technologies that are set to offer unprecedented opportunities to drive innovation and create value within a business.

Critical to the success of this is the recognition of the IT department as the enabler of what is, effectively, a cultural shift within a business. In addition, the emerging role of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) will ensure that all departments have access to the data they require, enabling them to collaborate efficiently and effectively with each other. By increasing the level of transparency, this will dissolve any unproductive silos that exist within the business.

However, to translate the information generated by IT analytics into actionable intelligence requires a solution that is able to visualise all data points over time, in real time. This holistic view of data can only be provided by using a new generation of IT analytics solution that will provide insight into end-user data, in real-time, across the entire business.