89% of companies recognise Big Data as very important to their digital transformation

Ninety-two percent of executives from companies that are applying big data to their businesses said they are satisfied with the results, according to new research by Accenture. The study is based on a survey of 1,000 CIOs, COOs, CDOs, CMOs, CFOs, chief analytics officers, and other senior technology, data and analytics leaders from companies in 19 countries across seven industries.

According to the study, 89 percent of respondents rated big data as “very important” or “extremely important” to their businesses’ digital transformation, and 82 percent agreed big data provides a significant source of value for their companies.
[caption id=“attachment_73871” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative Image. Getty Images[/caption]

“Businesses are at a transition point where instead of just talking about the potential results that can be achieved from big data, they are realizing actual benefits including increasing revenues, a growing base of loyal customers, and more efficient operations,” said Narendra Mulani, senior managing director, Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture Digital. “They’re recognising that big data is one of the cornerstones of digital transformation.”

A vast majority of users (89 percent) believe big data will revolutionise business operations in the same way the Internet did, while 85 percent feel big data will dramatically change the way they do business.

More than 60 percent of executives said their companies have successfully completed a big data implementation, while 36 percent haven’t pursued a big data project yet and are currently not pursuing such a project. Four percent were currently pursuing but hadn’t finished their first big data project.

Almost 79 percent agree that “companies that do not embrace big data will lose their competitive position and may even face extinction.”

According to the research, executives said their companies use big data moderately or extensively to: identify new sources of revenue (94 percent), retain and acquire customers (90 percent), and develop new products and services (89 percent).

Executives noted extensive tangible business outcomes from big data in finding new sources of revenue (56 percent), new product and service development (50 percent), winning and keeping customers (47 percent), and enhancing the customer experience (51 percent).

Asked where they expect big data to have the biggest impact on their organisation in the next five years, 63 percent of executives said “customer relationships”, 58 percent mentioned “product development”, and 56 percent said “operations”.

Executives also reported running into the following challenges when implementing big data in their organisations: security (the greatest challenge cited by 51 percent); budget (47 percent); lack of talent to implement big data (41 percent) as well as to run big data and analytics on an ongoing basis (37 percent); and integration with existing systems (35 percent).

“We’ve seen organisations overcome big data implementation challenges by remaining flexible and recognising that no single solution suits every situation,” said Vince Dell’Anno, managing director and global information management lead, Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture Digital.

The study also indicates that large companies with more than $10 billion in annual revenue approach big data differently than small companies having less than $500 million in annual revenue. Sixty-seven percent of executives from large companies see big data as extremely important, compared to only 43 percent of respondents from smaller companies.

Executives from large companies demonstrate a broader perception of what big data includes versus respondents from small companies, using more data sources in their big data efforts, e.g.: social network data (54 percent vs. 29 percent), visualisation data (50 percent vs. 29 percent), and unstructured data (49 percent vs. 36 percent).

Sixty-two percent of executives from large companies report extensive C-suite understanding and support of big data initiatives compared to 42 percent of respondents from small companies.
Recommendations for Big Data Success

For companies and executives to get the most from their big data projects and help ease big data challenges, the report outlines key recommendations including:

• Explore the entire big data ecosystem and be nimble - Data sources and big data technologies are in a constant state of flux. Companies need to learn to stay alert and be nimble to seize opportunities arising from, e.g., evolving technologies.

• Start small then grow - Rather than attempting to do everything at once, companies should focus resources around proving value from big data in one business area first via a pilot program or proof of concept.

• Focus on building skills - With talent listed as one of the biggest big data challenges, organizations need to build the big data skills of existing employees through training and development. Fifty-four percent of executives said their companies have already developed internal technical training opportunities for their employees. Most organizations also tap outside expertise; a mere five percent of respondents said their company used only internal resources for their big data implementations.