Gartner Study Finds Big Data Still In Infancy

Big data is a hot development so many industries are jumping on that, as a member of the channel, it can feel like you’re already behind.

But a new study released by Gartner showed there’s no need to despair. About 73 percent of organizations in a survey of 302 Gartner partners said they’re investing or planning to invest in big data technologies and services this past June. However, 13 percent have actually deployed those solutions. That figure, for organizations planning to invest in the next two years, is up from 64 percent in 2013 across a survey group of 720.

Mark Beyer, Gartner research vice president of information management, gave CRN his take on what's leading the disconnect between organization's big data plans and actual deployment.

[Related: The 2014 Big Data 100]

’The biggest reason people are assuming it is so advanced is because there’s a ton of hype around it,’ he said. ’Any time new technology of a new processing approach is introduced into the market, there is an immediate attraction to it by the most advanced users. The most advanced implementers and users are also the noisiest.’

There can be some resistance to adopting big data technology, Beyer said, especially as organizations struggle to justify the costs for the implementation.

This presents opportunities for VARs and the IT channel to capitalize on the trend.

’From the value added reseller view, ’I’m not behind because I have a solution.’ You’re not behind because the market hasn’t adapted it as much as everybody’s talking about it so you can get ahead,’ he said. ’You can jump out ahead of your competitors and into the market.’

He noted Gartner statistics on the verticals looking to move into big data can also help.

’If I’m a VAR and I see in that piece of research (which organizations are facing challenges), I address what the biggest challenge is in terms of delivering a big data product with my solution,’ he said. ’I definitely want to tell my customers, ’We can fix that.’’

NEXT: More Findings From Gartner Show It's Not Too Late for VARs In Big Data

Lisa Kart, Gartner research director, the most dramatic changes are in enhancing customer experience, especially in transportation, healthcare, insurance, media and communications, retail and banking, according to a Gartner release.

Kart said she’s also seeing an increase in using big data to develop information products.

’This is especially true among IT vendors, government and manufacturing," she said, with organizations in those industries looking to monetize data.

Gartner also reports less than 20 percent of all data warehouse implementations can truly be considered "leading" as additional proof that adoption is still early.

PUBLISHED OCT. 1, 2014