In 2013 big-data has evolved
from being a question mark to a business fact, big data truly got BIG in 2013
Thanks to NSA big-data is now big-news. The questionable
access to big-data, its use in real-time mining, national security and a host
of other needs have exposed main-streets capabilities to the power of
big data.
Structured, semi-structured and unstructured have moved from
concepts to reality, as have data architects and data scientists. What we like? Who we like to talk to? When we
buy? How we buy? Where we go? are all becoming very valuable questions for
companies seeking an ever larger share of your minds and spend. Proactive
companies are harvesting the business value of ‘Business-NOW’ and real-time
decisions at local and global levels.
Big data has come a long way and has stabilized in 2013.
Nascar now runs big data analytics on every car on the track with a clear aim
at reducing accidents and improving the safety of cars. They track the emotions
of the drivers and predict their propensity to take rash or irrational
decisions. In the air real-time data comes at the rate of four to six terabytes
per engine on a flight. Manufacturers are installing devices that talk to each other, the internet of things, and alert operators of service requirements, or care takers that an accident has taken place - please send an ambulance to a designated GPS location. The interesting thing is that 99.99% of all this data is
redundant, i.e. all is well. It is the 0.005% of data that says something is
not right that needs to be highlighted, in real-time, to an alert level for it to provide true
business solutions. In 2013 we see manufacturers, retailers, airlines, military, pharmaceuticals
and almost all industries start to wet their toes into big-data, and every
company that has tried it has come back with raw diamonds that they will now
need to polish and hone to perfection.
Big-data today is the beginning of the next age- the information age
Big data is the equivalent of the first few gallons of oil that Rockefeller
refined to become the gasoline king of days gone by. His gasoline drove the ford cars and launched the transportation revolution. It took machines from clunky steam engines to our modern gasoline engines. On one side big-data is
helping the world and humanity by analyzing cloud and weather patterns to
predict droughts and famines, or to predict the spread of diseases. On the
other side the same data is funded by major corporations to forecast where the
next famine will be so they can buy grain that these countries will need in the
near future. While the red-cross is using big data to plan their logistics and
doctors others are using it to snoop on their citizens and their conversations.
However, no matter how we look at this there are volumes of data being created
and there is untold business value in that data from those that are willing to
harness it in a scientific manner. According to Gartner over 64% of companies
interviewed had started investing into big-data analytics in one form or
another. Companies like BOFA, HSBC, AIG, Federal Communications Commission,
NSA, have all hired experienced data scientists into the new position of Chief
Data Officer realizing that data is the new form of currency and proactive
companies are beginning to realize that data alone is not enough, for without
information that data can often become a hindrance to true business value.
These companies have installed ‘Chief Business Value Architects’ with only one
aim- meet business expectations ( a goal set by Gartner in 2009 but coming to fruition
in 2013-14)
Lessons learned in 2012-13 with HANA as the sample solution
1.
HANA is
not just a technology installation: Enterprises that have installed SAP
HANA or big-data as a technology installation have hit various technocratic
hurdles. Whereas, companies that have looked at ‘Business Value and business
benefits’ with a clear question of show-me-the-business-benefit attitude have
truly gained from these installations.
2.
Technology
is the foundation: The fact remains that though technology is not to goal
it is the foundation. Big-data and HANA are possible because of the technology
advancements. While technology is the starting point it is also imperative to
ensure that companies partner with technology experts that understand business
value.
3.
What got
you here will not take you there: There is a high probability that 50-70%
of reports in your production BI environment are either not being used, or will
never be used, by your business users. There is no benefit in following the
same architecture, standards and processes that got you to this mess in the
first place. In 2013 Gartner stated “This
is a time of accelerating change, where
your current IT architecture will be
rendered obsolete. You must lead through this change, selectively destroy low impact systems, and aggressively change your IT cost structure. This is the New World
of the (big-data), the next age of
computing.” Mr. Sondergaard, Sr. Analyst at Gartner. Read this many
times. Read between the lines. Cast it in stone and reconsider everything that has got you to this
state including your methodology and partners. Don't make the mistake of migrating to this new technology with old architecture, standards, processes or methodologies.
4.
The big
elephant of big data is Hadoop: Companies planning to mine unstructured
data into enterprise analytics and decisions will find Hadoop as the prime
provider for such data. As a technology Hadoop is a very complex beast, as a
business solution there are startups that will extract and reduce the required
data in quite an effortless manner. So the key is a scientific approach and not
technocratic
5.
The price
of HANA is never fixed: Even though SAP may say the price of HANA is fixed
there are many ways to reduce the tactical and strategic cost of migrating to
HANA. By taking the migration of HANA in a scientific manner companies have
increased quality of data by 30-50% and simultaneously reduced the cost of
migrating to HANA by as much as 40 to 60%. Though it seems complex it follows
simple rules of professional deployment that can be repeated across time and
space. Over a period of 10 years this can be many millions of dollars saved.
6.
Partner with scientific principles and Business
Value Attainment: The goal has to be ‘Meet Business Expectations’. If you
simply take your existing BI environment, for example, and migrate it to HANA
then you will have gained very little, lost a lot and wasted a lot of time and
money of your business stakeholders.
The future is limited only to the capabilities of your imagination: One fact is
apparent that no one can predict the true potential of big-data and the power
of HANA. We all know that this has tremendous potential and business-value and
architecture are the key drivers. A few companies are understanding the
technology, training their business stakeholders and jointly leveraging the
true potential of the power of HANA. A little more and cleaning their existing
environments and leveraging the power of HANA towards better decisions and
processes. A few, on the other side of the bell curve, are simply taking their
existing BW, ECC, CRM and SCM environments and slapping on the power of HANA.
All of them are seeing gains but the proportional business value is highest
where business decisions is the focus and not technology
