sand hill big data report - 140128

Mindset over Data SetBig Data Prescription for Setting the Market Pace

January 2014

Bradley GrahamM. R. Rangaswami

© 2014 Sand Hill Group. All rights reserved.

2 © 2014 Sand Hill Group. All rights reserved.

"Using the status quo approaches, tools and applications moving forward is like bringing a knife to a gun fight."

- CIO, Financial Services Company


The Situation

• The market conversation is split– Lofty strategic-level opportunities and impact (consultants)

– Detailed product-specific capabilities andapplications (vendors)

• Resulted in a challenging situation forcorporate management– Given the hype, noise, confusion, cost, etc.

how do we move forward in a thoughtfuland responsible way?

• Created a need for a practical,lightweight and scalable prescriptionfor implementing Big Data– Based on the experiences and insights

of those who have successfully navigatedthe complexities


Research Methodology

Panel Executive Panel Technology Panel

Membership • 25 • 135

Company Size • Global 1000-class • Range of sizes (small to large)

Titles • Vice president and above (80%) • Director (20%)

• Mix of titles (from analytic developer to CEO)

Roles • Big Data thought leaders and practitioners

• Big Data practitioners and business sponsors/users

Focus • Successes and setbacks in the adoption and use

• Current/future uses• Satisfaction

Methodology • Confidential 1:1 interviews• Questionnaire (completed by 23)

• Electronic survey

• Panel encompassed technology and non-technology, consumer and industrial, and regulated and unregulated businesses

• Enabled the identification of common and transferable practices


A Strategic Priority

• The preponderance of companies view Big Data as a strategic priority– Few explicitly reference Big Data in

their strategic plan

– Primarily an enabler to attaining a strategic objective

• Those that don't fall into three distinct categories of companies: – De rigueur

– Early adopter

– Limited applicability

All agree that getting started is critical

76%

24%

Yes No or Not Sure

Big Dataas a

Strategic Priority


The Transformative Potential

Transformation Type of Results

OperationalEnhance the way thebusiness operates today

• Improved customer service

• Improved quality

• More efficient processes

• Increased productivity and effectiveness

• Reduced downtime

• Improved inventory management (reduced outages and excesses)

• Reduced fraud rates

TacticalEnhance customer relationships andcompetitive agility

• Better customer segmentation and more targeted offers

• Increased revenue per sale

• Improved customer loyalty (reduced churn)

• Improved products

• Development of new products

• Development of new applications for existing products

StrategicEnhance the long-term business potential

• Identify new lines of business

• Identify new product categories within existing lines of business

• Access new customer segments

• Access new geographical markets

Accomplishing 2 or 3 of these can be market changing


"Big Data is more than just about databases and tools. If we as a company don't change, we'll never be able to harness the value of the data."

- CIO, Consumer Products Company


The Big Data Mindset

• Big Data requires a cultural shift:– A new view of the company

– Exploration with a clear purpose anda fail early approach

– Willingness to change perspectives– Act based on causation rather

than correlation

• Must be driven from the top levelof the company

The Big Data mindset is critical to uncovering and exploiting the latent potential of data


Data Fusion Continuum

"You don't need to be Google. You just need to think like Google. Constantly explore, learn and adapt."

- Director, Technology Company

Data FusionLower Higher

Data Aware Data DerivedData Driven


Applying Big Data

• The business impact depends on the question posed (i.e., what Big Data solutions are intended to illuminate)

• Initial use: Well-contained yet addresses a meaningful need

• Follow-on applications: Opportunities that flow directly from the strategy are a prudent place to start

Application Area Targeting Using

Marketing 61% 39%

Product/Service Development 61% 30%

Internet Presence 52% 35%


Solid Progress with More to Come

44%

16%

19%

10%

11%

9%

9%

13%

22%

48%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Exploring and educating

Planning/Prioritizing

Developing first solution

Deployed first solution

Using multiple analytics

Percent of Panel

Initiative Status(by Panel)

Executive Panel Technology Panel

• Significant progress in both panels

• Executive panel has progressed further in its adoption of Big Data solutions– Results are justifying

continued investment– Implemented a systematic

approach

• Use of multiple analytics can encompass both basic and advanced solutions

• Expect a significant move toward advanced analytics over the next 12 - 18 months


Satisfaction is Driving Continued Investment

• Higher overall satisfaction among business sponsors and users relates to:– More profound insights– More effective actions

• Technology panel's higher than expected satisfaction is likely attributed to:– Success with the technology– Producing results that

satisfied the business stakeholders

• Technology panel was frustrated by:– Skills and resource shortage– Evolving nature of the

technology

35%

29%

49%

61%

16%

10%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Technology/Analyticsprofessional

Business sponsor/user

Percent of Role

Satisfaction with Big Data(By Role)

Better Than Meets Less Than


The Impact of Big Data

Industry Use Case

Distribution Inventory management

Health Care Patient readmission

Oil and Gas Reservoir management

Retail Seasonal promotions


The Big Data Realities

• Big Data can generate substantial benefits

• It is a still new and disruptive technology that can be complexto implement and use

• The cultural, organizational and process implications can be daunting

• The learning curve can be long and expensive


The Prescriptive Answer

• People– Cultivating the Big Data mindset and building the organizational

capabilities

• Approach– Implementing a collaborative process to ensure a portfolio-level view when

assessing, making and tracking Big Data investments

• Core platform – Establishing the necessary competencies, functions and assets

• Ecosystem partners – Building a critical group of product and service providers that augment

and edify internal resources


Big Data Research from Sand Hill Group

• Mindset over Data Set: A Big Data Prescription for Setting the Market Pace– Presents powerful learnings of some of the most

successful implementers of enterprise Big Data – Provides prescriptive executive-level guidance for

adopting and using Big Data– Use as a planning guide or benchmarking tool– Purchase at http://bit.ly/SH_BD_14_S

• Do You Hadoop? A Survey of Big Data Practitioners– Clarifies Big Data (Hadoop-based) initiative status– Identifies pain points and barriers to adoption– Illuminates usage changes over the next 12-18

months– Use as a benchmarking tool– Download at http://bit.ly/SH_H2014


Thank you!

Bradley GrahamExecutive Director, Carpe Datum Rx

[email protected]