Deloitte notes a growing number of analysts and researchers say data must be valued as an asset, as a time will come when it can be monetised.
It adds analytics innovators continue to look for new ways to gain advantage over slower-moving competitors. "In some cases, that advantage comes through sweeping discoveries that can upend entire business models. In other cases, more modest insights may emerge that unleash immense value. For 2015, leading companies are working on both fronts to strengthen their competitive positions."
To meet the demands of this new era, Deloitte says the marketplace is looking for a supply of true data scientists, not just button-pushers. "Many universities are working to serve this need. But as universities find themselves facing increased expectations to support the new data economy, the pressures will build."
Deloitte has assembled a list of eight significant analytics trends to watch in 2015 that it thinks continue this momentum. It also poses some questions around these trends:
1. The analytics of things: Are we capturing value from structured and unstructured data - including the Internet of things? Should we be?
2. Monetise this: Have we considered all the value our data can provide - and how do we determine the value of information anyway?
3. Bionic brains: What are the possible implications of machine learning and artificial intelligence - not just for our business, but for society and daily living?
4. The rise of open source: Does open source have a place in the analytics ecosystem? Can we govern it?
5. Tax analytics: What critical insights can tax executives gather from the quantitative field of tax analytics?
6. Universities step up: How can future analytics professionals skill up to deliver on advances in data science and analytics?
7. The accuracy quest: When is data "good enough" to feed effective analytics initiatives?
8. And what about the continuing importance of data security? This "supertrend" affects nearly every inch of the enterprise - and it can play an important role within the other trends identified. From intrusion detection to malware countermeasures, analytics-driven security strategies can offer organisations a predictive, proactive approach to their security challenges.
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