The Challenges of Big Data

Andrew Swindell's previous white paper outlined the need to address and mature a number of Data Management functions prior to embarking on major big data initiatives.

This white paper will endeavour to outline some of the major business challenges you have in creating your data management competitive advantage. Unless you have Executive sponsorship and buy in across the company, the ability to augment and leverage your data assets will be limited.

In my last paper, I outlined the need to address and mature a number of Data Management functions before you embark on major big data initiatives. To refresh, I outlined the need to improve your Data Governance and Stewardship, Data Architecture visibility, management of Master and Reference data and of course a continual focus on Data Quality.

Without these basic disciplines in place at your company, the technology created in your company will be fraught with messy data cleansing, integration spaghetti, inaccurate insights and misunderstanding of customer behaviour. The new data management technology capabilities created over the last 3-5 years has made enormous leaps and bounds which has added fuel to the paradigm that companies really can achieve competitive advantage through management of their data assets.