Big Data Continues to Garner Significant Attention

Big Data. It’s everywhere and everyone is talking about what it is, what it’s not and how to deal with it – or make some money with it.

Top four reasons why we believe Big Data is the hottest industry in the market:

• Information never ceases. Research firm IDC predicts the size of data – what it calls the “digital universe” – will grow to 2.7 zetabytes in 2012, up 48 percent from 2011’s record year. According to IBM, the end-user community creates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data a day.
• When curriculum adapts around a market trend, there’s usually a good reason. Universities are offering programs and majors around data science and most programs are even requiring an IT segment in other domain expertise areas. The Harvard Business review calls the “data scientist” the “sexiest job in the 21st century.” You will soon see Chief Data Officer as a common title among most corporations.
• Analytics are essential for marketing, sales and operations teams across all sectors. From retailers to healthcare companies – there are tools to measure and even predict what people are buying or thinking about buying, where people are investing their money or purchasing homes – Gartner thinks CMOs will have bigger tech budgets than CIOs in just a couple of years.
• Nearly every industry is touched by data analytics. IDC has released a forecast that shows the big data market is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $16.9 billion in 2015. Big Data allows firms to harness data and turn it into something useful, ensuring IT spending will be a top priority for the foreseeable future. Big data increases efficiency in a time of ever increasing compliance (i.e. cost) responsibilities. Executives will look for more cost-effective ways to store, analyze and comply with their data.

Clearsight believes that the market will continue to see an incredible influx of start-ups that offer unique solutions surrounding big data and that, in turn will lead to a rush of consolidation as the market leaders move to acquire relevant tools and services that compliment their offerings and bolster their market share. We also believe companies will continue to allocate capital towards big data – new systems, vendors, processes, and research.