Big Data: The McKinsey Way
September 11, 2015
I read “6 Observations from a New Survey on the State of Big Data Analytics.” The data come from a study underwritten by a magazine outfit, a blue chip consulting firm, and a company selling storage and related bright and shiny things.
I found the write up suggestive. The first finding was a bomb shell.
The hype gone, big data is alive and doing well.
Aside from the subject-verb error coming from data is when data is the plural of datum, the information is revolutionary. Big Data is no longer subject to hyperbole. I did not know that. Topsy.com tallied 3,154 tweets about Big Data in the the 24 hours of September 8, 2015. For comparison, Big Data is in a dead heat with the tweets about the Bentley Bentayga SUV. Good company. FYI: Katy Perry managed only 1,468 tweets in the same time period. Nevertheless, in Harrod’s Creek, Big Data, expensive autos, and a musical 30 year old are buzz machines.
The write up reports:
No matter how many times you say “data-driven,” decisions are still not based on data. Sounds familiar? 51% of executives said that adapting and refining a data-driven strategy is the single biggest cultural barrier and 47% reported putting big data learning into action as an operational challenge.
Yikes. More consulting is needed to get this cultural change thing underway.
Other findings that underpin the article are:
- If the CEO is into Big Data, the company is into Big Data…mostly. If the CEO is like the airline executives in the news, the CEO may have other interests
- I love this: “Even if you have top leadership sponsorship and the right culture, getting data to drive action and strategy is a challenge. 48% of executives surveyed regard making fact-based business decisions based on data as a key strategic challenge, and 43% cite developing a corporate strategy as a significant hurdle.” Maybe Big Data is not the slam dunk consultants and journalists wish it to be?
- Brontobyte data. Hey, we have perfectly useful words to suggest unimaginably large quantities. I like yottabyte. The study sponsors seem to be okay with the brontobyte coinage. Very hip, but I would have created a variant of Diplodocus. More colorful for sure.
- There is a shortage of “big data miners.” Okay, I understand. The user friendly analytics tools are just not too helpful unless a company has someone who actually paid attention in statistics classes.
The only thing missing from this write up is links to the sponsors’ product pages. By the way, the article pumps up Big Data. Amusing stuff.
Stephen E Arnold, September 11, 2015
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