Shortage of Analysts Challenges Big Data Implementation

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There is one big obstacle standing in the way of big data becoming the next big thing… a lack of qualified workers to interpret the data. According to research by Customer Relationship Metrics, big data has been a topic of discussion on 20,000 blog posts, press articles and social networks postings in the past three months but, despite this growing popularity, many businesses are unable to take advantage of big data due to a lack of knowledgeable workers able to comprehend the data.

According to a recent survey published by Connotate, a Web-data monitoring and collection company, 45 percent of businesses stated the main challenge of big data was having time and people able to analyze the data. Additionally, further research by the McKinsey Global Institute, released in October 2011, found that current demand for people who can analyze big data outpaces supply by as much as 50 to 60 percent and that by 2018 it is estimated 140,000 to 190,000 specialists may be needed to process these data sets. 

"Right now, big data is nothing more than a buzzword," Jodie Monger, founder and president of Customer Relationship Metrics , said. "Everyone in information technology knows that the enterprise cannot afford to overlook the massive data sets they create. They know that these data sets contain a plethora of information that can help them better serve their customers. But nobody knows how to actually reach this Holy Grail."

Big data, which refers to a collection of several sets of data ranging from customer data to competitive data, and online data to offline data, presents an opportunity to businesses who can use that information to better know their customers and how to target new customers. The key to taking advantage of this data comes from people who are able to effectively analyze and process the information.

"Analyzing big data can be overwhelming," Monger said. "Ironically, use of the term big data grew significantly in mid-2011 when McKinsey and Co. issued its seminal research report Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. The report warned of a growing shortage of talent to leverage big data and make decisions based on data trends."

Reach BusinessNewsDaily staff writer David Mielach at Dmielach@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_M89.