Big Data, a big Priority for IT Managers

Enormous amounts of data are being generated daily by smartphones, sensors, video cameras, smart meters, and other connected devices, adding to the huge store of information from traditional sources. This data avalancherepresents a potential gold mine of insights, but a new studycommissioned by Cisco reveals that IT professionals and businesses are challenged to extract strategic value from their data.

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While most companies are collecting, storing and analysing data, the report reveals that many are struggling with both the business and IT challenges of big data. For example, while 60 per cent of survey respondents globally agreed that big data will help improve decision making and increase their competitiveness, only 28 per cent report they are currently generating strategic value from their data.

Key India Findings of the 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report (CCWTR)

• Big Data, Big Potential: 82 per cent of respondents in India agreed that big data will help countries improve decision making and help them to be more globally competitive, globally 60 per cent of the respondents believed so.
• Big Data, Big Priority: 4 in 5 IT managers in India (83%) agree that big data will be a strategic priority for their companies in 2013 and over the next five years as well compared to 68 per cent globally.
• Big Data Expected to Spur Investment in IT: 69 per cent of IT Managers surveyed in India predict big data will increase budgets over the next three years (Global: 57 %).
• Big Data expands the role of IT: More strategic, more partnership: Big data presents an opportunity for IT to add value and create stronger relationships across lines of business that help the bottom line and increase revenue.
• Data security (41%), lack of time to study big data (19%) and lack of solutions that fit need and expertise (11%) were the top 3 concerns cited by Indian respondents that are hindering big data adoption.

Network traffic is doubling and tripling, driven by mobile devices, business applications, video, and Big Data - Almost half of IT managers surveyed in India (46%) estimated networks loads to double over the next 2 years; while one in four (26 %) felt that this would triple in the next two years. However, only two out five surveyed (41 %) report they are ready for the surge in network traffic.

Big Data Expected to Spur Investment in IT

More than half of the IT respondents believe big data will affect their organizations IT budgets now and in the future based on technology, personnel and expertise requirements.

• Over half the respondents expect big data strategies to increase their IT budgets in 2013.
• Nearly three out of five (57%) say big data will increase their budgets over the next three years.
• Over four out of five surveyed (81%) said all or some big data projects will require cloud computing capabilities. This was especially true in China (78%) and India (76%).
• As a result, cloud adoption may affect the rate of adoption and benefits of Big Data efforts.
• Nearly half of IT managers (48%) estimated their network loads would double over the next two years.
• Nearly one in four (23%) expect to see network loads triple over the next two years.
• Only two out five surveyed (40%) report they are ready for a surge in network traffic.
• Over one in four (27%) say they will need better IT policies and security measures.
• Over one in five (21%) say they will need more bandwidth.

Impact on IT

Big Data expands the role of IT: More strategic, more partnership

Big Data presents an opportunity for IT to add value and create stronger relationships across lines of business that help the bottom line and increase revenue. Big data projects can help provide opportunities for the IT department to become more of a strategic partner within their organizations.

Not surprisingly, three out of four respondents (73%) said that the information technology department will drive their big data strategy. However, survey respondents said other lines of business will join IT in big data leadership, including: Finance (24%), Research and Development (20%), Operations (20%), Engineering (19%), Marketing (15%), and Sales (14%).

Big Data and IT staffing

Many companies are discovering that big data projects need to span multiple lines of business requiring new levels of intercompany collaboration. And while technology is important to big data solutions, people need skill set and creativity to imagine and realise datas full potential. There is a growing need for more IT professionals to be trained in this specialised area: for example, the data scientists who transform raw data into information leading to discovery and insight, communicate what theyve learned in creative and visual ways, and suggest business impact.

• Almost one in four IT managers (22%) say big data projects will significantly affect IT staffing, and over half (56%) say it will have at least some impact.
• When asked if they were personally ready to take advantage of big data opportunities, 35 per cent felt unreservedly ready, 36 per cent expressed their readiness but felt the technologies and solutions were lacking, and one out of four (24%) did not feel ready at all.

Data in Motion: new data source leads to new opportunities

An important, but largely untapped, type of data is the real-time actionable data generated by sources such as devices, sensors and video, which often provide the most value while interacting in real time: Cisco calls this target="_blank">Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2012 to 2017, there will be more than 1.7 billion machine-to-machine connections by 2017.

• Three out of every four respondents (73%) plan to include data from digital sensors, smart meters, video, and other nontraditional networked smart devices into their Big Data plans.
• Adoption is in the early stage: Only one-third of survey respondents globally (33%) have a plan in place to take advantage of these new data sources.

The exceptions are China (64%), India (59%) and Argentina (50%), where IT managers report their companies have already implemented

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