Big Data: Exploiting the Information Explosion
Professor Joe Peppard
Graham Bell
The volume of data being generated by companies has increased
almost immeasurably over recent years and big data is now an
important issue. Joining me today is Joe Peppard, Professor of
Information Systems. Joe can you tell me what big data is and what
the significance is for business?
Joe Peppard
I think there are a number of issues to consider when we talk about
big data. The first one is to make the point that organisations have
always struggled with their data and I think that the concept of big
data is really just highlighting that the problem has got ever more
complex because what we are seeing is that the volume, variety and
velocity of data is increasingly dramatically to such an extent now that
actually the size of the data is actually part of the problem. Now in the
research that I’m doing, what I’m seeing is that this conversation that
is occurring around big data is really moving the goal posts and it’s
moving the goal posts away from looking at how we may manage
information to one where the challenge is around how we might
exploit information and that is fundamentally different.
Graham Bell
And how could companies use technology say for to address the
challenges of big data?
Joe Peppard
There is kind of the magic bullet thesis that dominates lots and lots of
companies and that is that somehow technology is going to solve the
problem and in this case there is technology out there whether that’s
business intelligence or analytical tools that companies will just
purchase and somehow the problem around big data will be
addressed. I think that’s a fallacy and I think generally when I look at
what companies are doing I think they fall into two camps. The first
one is that they approach the implementation of BI (business
intelligence) and analytical tools in exactly the same way that the
approach the implementation of other IT investments like further
enterprise system or for supply chain optimisation of if you are let’s
say a hospital for a new system to support patient administration.
That is one paradigm and that is based on a paradigm where
information is seen as a corporate resource and as such it is seen as
residing in databases on reports in dashboards and as such therefore
it’s capable of being manipulated. Now the alternative paradigm
which I believe is more suited for BI and analytics investment and
other initiatives to address big data takes the view that information
does not reside in artefacts but actually information is the result of
the outcome of people constructing meaning out of messages and
data. That’s fundamentally different and that dictates that how we
run the associated IT project to address the challenge of big data
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Veronica Burke
should be fundamentally different.
Graham Bell
What are the implications then for the future because presumably the
amount of data we generating is only going to continue to grow?
Joe Peppard
Absolutely and I think you are absolutely right and I think if there is a
key message for managers it is that business intelligence does not
reside in data warehouse. So, by that I mean you cannot actually buy
business intelligence although vendors will claim that they can
actually sell you business intelligence software. BI emerges in the
minds of employees when they identify and access data combine that
data with their experiences and also the experiences of others and
begin to work collaboratively. It’s only through that process that new
insights, new knowledge or what we refer to as business intelligence
will actually be generated.
Graham Bell
Thank you Joe, some useful insights into a growing issue.
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