If you’re still not sure how important data analytics will become for your business, consider this: 87% of enterprises say Big Data analytics will redefine the competitive landscape of their markets by 2018, according to a new study from Accenture and General Electric.
Called the Industrial Internet Insights Report for 2015, the paper looks at trends expected to shape markets and industries, like analytics, monitoring and the Internet of Things.
“The research reveals that there is a growing urgency for organizations to embrace Big Data analytics to advance their Industrial Internet strategy,” the report authors write. “The vast majority of respondents believe that Big Data analytics has the power to dramatically change the competitive landscape of industries within the next year.”
The reasons are plentiful. The combination of sensors, software and machine learning has the potential to unleash all sorts of new information. It appears everyone, from the board of directors on down, is getting serious and putting big money behind data analytics.
Many business leaders – a hefty 89% of folks interviewed for the study — believe that failing to implement on a Big Data analytics strategy in the coming year will result in a loss of market share.
Here are more highlights from the report:
- More than 80% of companies say analytics are one of their top three priorities.
- Nearly half say Big Data analytics will help them create new business opportunities and generate new revenue.
- 60% said Big Data analytics will make them more profitable.
- 73% of companies spend 20% or more of their IT budget on analytics.
Of course, no one said this would be easy. The three biggest challenges for companies embracing Big Data analytics are:
- Divisions between departments and business units that limit collection and correlation of data across an organization
- Security
- Building systems and integrating data
But if the experts are right, those are challenges worth figuring out – the sooner the better.