EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
At a high level , a Big Data strategy is a plan designed to help organisations oversee and improve the way they acquire , store , manage , share and use data within and outside in decision support . In practice , it can help companies do all sorts of things – determining root causes of failures , issues and defects in near-real time and in real time where necessary .
A Big Data strategy sets the stage for business success amid an abundance of data .
For example , in retail , generating coupons at the point of sale based on the customer ’ s buying habits and , in the banking and financial sector , recalculating entire risk portfolios in minutes and detecting fraudulent activities before such activities affect the organisation . A Big Data strategy sets the stage for business success amid an abundance of data .
There ’ s no single blueprint for beginning a data analytics project – never mind ensuring a successful one . There are , however , several questions that help individuals and organisations frame their data analytics projects in instructive ways .
Start by asking what business problem you are trying to solve . Then , look at what types and sources of data are available to you , including both internal and existing resources . Assess the quality of data available . Before data can be used , it must be accessed , categorised and cleansed . Once that ’ s done , Big Data can be analysed for insights that lead to better decisions and strategic business moves . One of the most significant benefits of Big Data tools and solution including SAS is that these offer cost advantages to businesses when it comes to storing , processing and analysing large amounts of data . Big Data tools can also identify efficient and cost-savvy ways of doing business .
Given the explosion of data , CIOs and IT leaders are struggling to store and process Big Data . As we generate the zettabytes of data , Big Data and analytics have cemented their place in the enterprise . The CIO has to make the right technology choices that enable business users to become more data-driven .
Today , a CIO ’ s and an IT Head ’ s role have evolved and become more centred around business transformation . The CIO is almost like the change agent who ensures that all IT functions that support the business work smoothly to effect transformational change . To implement transformational change , you need information and intelligence – something that you can get only with data and analytics .
When designing Big Data and analytics strategies , a CIO ’ s main mission is to promote collaboration between technology teams and the business while remaining compliant with all regulatory requirements .
The objective of Big Data and analytics is also to enable collaboration to drive transformation and lead to successful business outcomes .
When designing Big Data and analytics strategies , a CIO ’ s main mission is to promote collaboration between technology teams and the business while remaining compliant with all regulatory requirements . p
ABED HAMANDI , SENIOR DIRECTOR –
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES , SOUTH & EAST EUROPE ,
CENTRAL ASIA & MEA , SAS
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