In this special guest feature, Ron Stein of Space-Time Insight talks about what data should organizations be looking at, how can they leverage, and how can data analytics help. Ron is Director of Product Marketing for Space-Time Insight, and a Silicon Valley marketing and product management veteran possessing experience that spans semiconductors, embedded systems (now referred to as IoT and IoE) and large-scale enterprise systems. His experience with advanced analytics, data visualization and IoT includes dedicated IoT and analytics solutions that help law enforcement and physical security agencies ameliorate violent crime, and extensive analytical models that help property and casualty insurers effectively manage exposure and risk. Ron also possesses expertise in cloud computing infrastructure, cyber security and data privacy.
The pace of business, innovation, disruption and data generation is fast and accelerating. New businesses, new business models and more sources of data are the new normal. To ensure near-term and long-term success it is essential for organizations to derive value from the data that their operations and systems are generating and capturing. More specifically and importantly organizations must act on the value and insights derived from their data. Advanced analytics and data visualization technologies are now and will continue to be critical enablers for deriving value from their data and decisively acting on data. And the majority of business executives recognize this.
- According to a 2015 Accenture report, “61% of C-suite executives cited digital initiatives as a driver for growth.” [1]
- McKinsey & Company cites that “more than three-quarters of executives say the strategic intent behind their digital programs is either to build competitive advantage in an existing business or to create new business and tap new profit pools.” Also cited in the same publication is an acute need for data and analytics. [2]
Big data, unstructured data, streaming data, offsite data and quality of data are all matters that must be addressed before analytics and visualization can deliver its full potential. Organizations also must have appropriate technologies to accommodate the growth and breadth of data in each of the three commonly described dimensions – variety, volume and velocity. Nowadays and for the foreseeable future data is more varied, more voluminous and is being generated and coming into organizations at increasing velocities especially due to sources of streaming data (e.g., clickstreams and Internet of Things devices). Another impediment is that as businesses have installed data processing solutions to support their core business and operations, each system often uses its own format and repository. This situation is exacerbated by growth-by-acquisition where acquired entities often have similar but not exactly the same systems, which breeds even more varied data formats and repositories. Challenges are further compounded when data is in different formats, repositories and physical locations. The latter issue is increasing due to data stored offsite as an integral aspect of one or more cloud-based service
[1] “Driving business strategies with the internet of things”
[2] “The digital tipping point: McKinsey Global Survey results”
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