Big data could have IT companies ending up with "technology debt" if not managed effectively, says Irfan Khan, senior VP and GM of SAP big data.
Speaking at the SAP database and technology partner summit, in Barcelona, Khan says technology debt is when a company builds a product that is eventually 20 to 30 years old, and continues to layer new technologies and innovations on top of it, ultimately ending up with a tech deficiency. "We cannot assume because we are seeing an increase in performance [through the use of big data], that this is going to be sustainable. You have to address the core."
He explains that companies tend to be preoccupied with where and how are they are going to collect big data, rather than the business strategy and infrastructure requirements around it.
"Big data is a convergence technology, because it is changing infrastructure. [Big data] is becoming synonymous with the underlying technologies such as databases, visualisation, etc." Companies need to re-imagine the foundations of the big data environment, he adds.
Khan notes that big data also means a significant shift in IT economics. He explains that a company's costs are going up because of the need to manage the complexity of the landscape, the use of consultants, managing business disruptions, and the energy and operations that go into big data. However, costs are, at the same time, decreasing because of better hardware per unit performance, integration tools, communications infrastructure, data storage and data processing. "We need the infrastructure [of companies] to be more productive, and that is why data scientists are going to become such a vital skills set in the future."
Using the SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance as an example, Khan notes SAP combines database or data warehouse, information management and application development and management to provide a next-generation solution, thereby truly connecting people, applications and processes.
Khan says SAP is giving customers the tools to extract and analyse data, the science experts to refine data industry insights, and the applications to infuse insight into every person and process.
"Big data is having its cloud moment. But we have to be careful not to big-data-wash everything, because what exactly are you referring to when you say big data? We should look for business outcomes rather than just big data."
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