Companies Advised to Ask Questions Before Perusing Big Data Solutions

Big data means crisis to many organizations because of the fear-driven hype many media sources have created surrounding the concept. If your organization doesn't have the right solution, big data will swallow it whole. We found a refreshing article in Forbes calling for reflective planning before embarking on a big data mission. The article "Tuesday's Tip: The Big Question In Big Data Is...What's The Question?" gives some sample questions businesses may want to answer before jumping in.

A great example of a question that could show the direction an organization should take with big data crunching software is, "what are the answers that help us move from data to decisions?"

The article characterizes the problem with focusing on solutions:

A technology vendor land grab for mind share with big data is happening now the same way everyone adopted cloud. Hardware vendors now enable big data. Storage providers now deliver big data solutions. Integration vendors provide plumbing and intelligent connections for big data. Analytical vendors now all support big data. Some folks like to confuse Hadoop with big data. Everyone has a solution, just not the solution a buyer thinks they need. 

There are a plethora of big data solutions fit for just about any company's needs. The trick is for the organization to know what they need before the inundation of marketing occurs. 

Megan Feil, June 26, 2012