The talk about organizations appointing Chief Data Officers (CDOs) might suggest people are taking data and its exploitation more seriously these days. And they are. But there's a long way to go, and a few symbolic appointments will not do the trick.
Looking at myths about big data, Rachel Clinton at Smart Vision Europe picks out a salient point: “Gartner research based on case studies of hundreds of companies estimates that in 2016 85% of fortune 500 companies will still not be able to exploit big data for competitive advantage.” That's a stunning conclusion, given all the coverage big data has had over the last several years. Predictions aren't the same as fate. It's possible to use a prediction as a wake-up call.
Think of the millenium bug: some people say it was all hype, because the world didn't come to an end. But the disaster didn't happen because people took heed of the warning, and fixed their systems. Successful data exploitation isn't in the gift of a CDO. It won't be provided by some silver bullet system. It's going to take the combined efforts of everyone in the business. This is the knowledge era. We're in a knowledge economy. This means there's a knowledge dimension to every activity we undertake. In turn, this means everyone in the enterprise has responsibility for data – its meaning, quality, and usability. Myths About Big Data
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