Search Vendor Identifies Big Data Failings

June 5, 2016

Talk about the pot calling the kettle a deep fryer? I read “Attivio Survey Exposes Disconnect Between Big Data Excitement and Organizations’ Ability to Execute.” On one hand, the idea that a buzzword does not, like Superman, transform into truth, justice, and the America way is understandable. On the other hand, the survey underscores one of the gaps in the marketing invasion force search vendors have when selling information access as business intelligence.

The write up points out that Big Data is going like gangbusters. However:

64 percent of respondents said that process bottlenecks prevent large data sets from being accessed quickly and efficiently. This dissonance highlights a growing gulf between the desire to embrace Big Data and their ability to operationalize it.

With a sample size of 150, I am not sure how solid these results are, but the point is poignant. Doing “stuff” with data is great. But how is the “stuff” relevant to closing a sale.

Attivio, the apparent sponsor of the study, seems a glass that is more than half full, maybe overflowing. Three key findings from the study allegedly were:

  • Legacy systems are not up to the task of Big Data crunching. The fix? Not provided but my hunch is that the “cloud” will be a dandy solution
  • Finding folks who can actually “do” Big Data and provide useful operational outputs is a very difficult task. The fix? I assume one can hire an outfit like the study’s sponsor, but this is just a wild guess on my part.
  • Governance is an issue. The fix? If I were working at Booz, Allen, the answer is obvious: Hire Booz, Allen to manage. If that’s not an option, well, floundering may work.

Net net: Search vendors need to find a source of sustainable revenue. Big Data is a possibility, but the market is not exactly confident about the payoff and how to use the outputs. The demos are often interesting.

Stephen E Arnold, June 5, 2016

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