The massive amounts of data we are generating and collecting has the potential to transform how we make decisions to revolutionize every aspect of our business operations, from improving product development and creating highly targeted marketing campaigns to developing a more efficient supply chain.  Big Data represents a great opportunity for actionable insight, to create value, and effect change.

However, is it a mistake to assume that the more data you collect the better? The real challenge to garnering usable insight from Big Data lies not in collecting more data, but in gaining access to the “right data” that will guide real decisions and positively impact business.

The importance of the right data

As Gary King, the Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard stated, “the data itself isn’t what’s most important. It’s the algorithm.”  “There’s 600 million social media posts every day. You can download them all, but what do you do with it?” King said. “More data isn’t helpful; what’s helpful is the methods of making use of it all.”

For most organizations the promise of Big Data has yet to come to fruition, mainly because of the lack of an integrative approach.  According to a report by ZS, a global marketing and sales firm, entitled: Broken links, organizations need to look beyond cost to the total value created by the analytics, recognizing the importance of a cohesive analytics system connecting from the data to technology platforms, business processes, analytic decision making and, ultimately, the impact on the customer. 

Getting to the right data

The Broken Links report acknowledges that companies have progressed on the technology side of analytics, but states that the processes should be embedded more deeply into the fabric of the business. They report that the biggest challenges in the analytics value chain are those at the front and back ends—areas where senior analytics executives interact most with the rest of the business.

Some examples of companies that have found success unearthing the “right data” include, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Xerox.  Bristol-Myers Squibb was able to reduce the duration of an average clinical trial by 98% by harnessing the power of data while protecting trial participants’ privacy. This has enabled the company to release new drugs onto the market sooner, improving patients’ lives.  In another case, using data about its workforce, Xerox was able to reduce the attrition rate of call center employees by 20%.

These stories highlight successful data-driven initiatives that were able to extract real value from their analytics. Analytic tools like Splunk, are invaluable to enable data scientists, working in conjunction with business leaders, to discovering the “right data” and positively impact business.