Data and Information: Three Cs for an Average Grade

November 21, 2015

I read “Why Companies Are Not Engaging with Their Data.” The write up boils down the “challenge” to three Cs; that is, a mnemonic which makes it easy to pinpoint Big Data clumsiness.

The three Cs are:

  • Callowness
  • Cost
  • Complexity.

How does one get past the notion of inexperience? I suppose one muddles through grade school, high school, college, and maybe graduate school. Then one uses “experience” to get a job and one can repeat this process with Big Data. How many organizations will have an appetite for the organic approach to inexperience? Not many I assert. We live in a quick fix, do it now environment which darned well better deliver an immediate pay off or “value.” Big Data may require experience but the real world wants instant gratification.

Cost remains a bit of a challenge, particularly when revenues are under pressure. Data analytics can be expensive when done correctly and really costly if done incorrectly.

Complexity. Math remains math. Engineering data management systems tickles the fancy of problem solvers. Combine the two, and the senior management of many firms are essentially clueless about what is required to deliver outputs which are on the money and with budgets.

The write up states:

As a recent report from Ernst & Young points out ‘Most organizations have complex and fragmented architecture landscapes that make the cohesive collation and dissemination of data difficult.

In short, big hat, no cattle. Just like the promises of enterprise search vendor to make information accessible to those making business decisions, the verbal picture painted by marketers is more enticing than the shadow cast by Big Data’s Cs. I see that.

Stephen E Arnold, November 21, 2015

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