4-Analytics Skills Shortages Will Persist
IDC projects that in the U.S. alone, there will be 181,000 deep analytics roles in 2018 and five times that many positions requiring related skills in data management and interpretation. Such acute shortages will provide opportunities for service companies and consultants who specialize in big data analytics delivery and management. Analysis released at the end of last year by Wanted Analytics found triple-digit growth in demand for a range of jobs associated with big data. For example, there was a 124% increase in demand for IT project managers with big data expertise. A survey of 2,719 companies from MIT Sloan Management Review and SAS finds 43% of companies are struggling with finding big data analytical skills. Most companies report also struggling with being able to integrate such talent with their traditional data management departments.
5-Data Discovery and Cloud Are the Two Biggest Growth Stories
There are many technologies and solution sets swirling about in this robust market, and adoption has been booming across the board. In particular, two hot areas have surfaced on the analytics scene over the past year—visual data discovery tools and cloud-based services. IDC says the market for visual discovery tools will be growing 2.5 times faster than the rest of the business intelligence market. In addition, over the next 5 years, spending on cloud-based big data and analytics solutions will grow three times faster than spending for on-premises solutions, the consultancy predicts. “Hybrid on/off premise deployments will become a requirement,” it says.
6-Storytelling Is Becoming the Most Important Deliverable in Analytics
Storytelling is one of the key lines in the data scientist’s job description. The demand for storytelling is rising as demand for data scientists keeps increasing. “As analytics continue to grow in importance and impact, successful organizations are recognizing the critical nature of communicating analytics and the stories behind the data,” according to a report from the International Institute for Analytics (IIA). “Effective storytelling that makes sense of analytics insights can help organizations solve business problems,” the company says.
7-Big Data Is Opening Up the Internet of Things (IoT)
A recent study from Forrester Research, commissioned by SAP and Intel, finds that as companies prioritize technology investments that enable data-driven decision making and help them improve customer experiences, IoT solutions and applications are gaining momentum. Pressure to leverage data and deliver better customer experiences spurs IoT adoption or plans at 50% of global enterprises, the study finds. More than two-thirds of the companies surveyed that are prioritizing better customer experience or leveraging data believe their use of IoT will make these imperatives easier to address. “Businesses are planning to use or are currently using a multitude of IoT solutions, from asset management and operations management to customer-facing use cases,” the report states.
A report from BI Intelligence posits the IoT will be the largest device market in the world, estimating that in 4 years, it will be more than double the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car, and the wearable market combined—adding $1.7 trillion in value to the global economy, based on hardware, software, installation costs, management services, and economic value added from realized IoT efficiencies. The enterprise sector will lead IoT, the consultancy predicts, accounting for 46% of device shipments in 2015. However, by 2019, government will be the leading IoT device customers.
Of course, the embrace of IoT is still only in its early stages, and most firms have yet to recognize its potential, the authors of the Forrester study point out. Companies are quick to recognize the operational benefits of IoT, but a minority (34%) strongly agreed that IoT enables business model innovation. When prompted, a majority of companies (54%) can envision new service offerings, but only 31% can envision new products enabled by IoT. “Companies that leverage IoT for both their topline and bottom-line impacts—operational efficiencies and new revenue streams—will get the full benefit of IoT technology.”
8-The Variety of Data Types Is Increasing
The Teradata survey finds location-based data is the leading type of data now used by enterprises, with more than half reporting using this data. Another 48% are leveraging email and text data, 43% are using social media data, and 39% are employing image data. Thirty-eight percent are making use of weblog data, and 37% store and use video. The emphasis in data shops has long been limited to collecting and managing transactional data, related to customer orders, payments, and records, the report notes. Now, business leaders are recognizing the value of unstructured data formats that incorporate graphics, documents, video, audio, and social media. Add smartphones and real-time location-based applications, and things get even more interesting.
9-Users Will Generate Their Own Big Data Analytics and Insights
Finally, after years of predictions by analysts, vendors and pundits, the era of both “data democracy” and self-service may be finally upon us. Self-service will be enabled by solutions such as visual discovery tools, which will be available to employees across all enterprises.
For more articles on the state of big data, download the third edition of The Big Data Sourcebook, your guide to the enterprise and technology issues IT professionals are being asked to cope with in 2016 as business or organizational leadership increasingly defines strategies that leverage the "big data" phenomenon.