Lack of in-house skills and adequate tools to address data quality issues are some of the main barriers to the adoption of big data by local organisations.
This is according to a recent online Big Data Survey conducted by ITWeb. The survey found that most organisations are good at collecting and storing data, but few have the skills and the tools needed to extract, analyse and use data to create lasting value for the business.
Complexity of technologies (16%), legacy systems (14%) and cost of investment (15%) were cited as other barriers to the adoption of big data.
Around 14% of respondents said they do not have a data strategy in place. Of those who said they do have one, 46% admitted that it was not comprehensive.
Experts point out that despite the benefits of having a comprehensive data strategy; few organisations have actually developed a structured plan to improve the access, sharing, and usage of their data. Most firms have comprehensive plans for applications, development tools, platforms, and even storage, but there are few initiatives that ensure that data is managed as a business asset.
A comprehensive enterprise data strategy leverages a variety of data to support the company's overall business strategy.
With more companies understanding the importance of big data as a useful source for gaining insights, the survey revealed big data analysis (49%) saw the highest growth in demand over the last year, with big data storage (41%) ranking in second and internal big data collection (40%) in third place.
The results were evenly split when the respondents were asked what they see as the main benefits of big data analysis, with 14% citing reduced risk, and another 14% choosing more efficient operations.
Mervin Miemoukanda, senior research analyst for software, IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, believes while more local organisations are realising the potential of big data and analytics, they are still grappling with some challenges.
"This rising awareness of big data and analytics will accelerate the adoption of these technologies across all verticals in the coming years. However, limited IT budgets and the dearth of skilled resources impede big data and analytics initiatives across organisations in the country.
"Organisations in SA can consider internally developing skills by sharing resources, undertaking training programmes, and partnering with vendors. Indeed, it will be crucial for firms to establish a data-driven culture and encourage knowledge sharing to develop internal capabilities."
Furthermore, big data collection (52%) emerged as the most in-demand component of big data, with big data storage (46%) ranking in second place and big data analysis (44%) in third.
Transactions data 66%, social media data (42%), and locational/geospatial data (38%) were the three most popular types of data being considered for big data technologies.
Big data initiatives
When asked if they have any big data initiatives in progress or in planning, 23% said they had no initiatives underway. Of those who said yes, 37% said their initiatives were in progress and 31% said they were in planning phase.
A well-designed big data initiative can help an organisation accrue many benefits, such as understanding customer needs, and getting actionable intelligence on how to react effectively to changing market conditions.
In terms of the data domains that their organisation is mostly focused on for their big data initiatives, 62% said they were more focused on customer transactions, 57% cited product and data, while 49% use market and competitive data for their initiatives.
About the survey
The 2018 Big Data Survey was run online on ITWeb for a period of two weeks to examine how local organisations are using big data to gain business value.
1 How organisations rate access to relevant, accurate and timely data;
2 What possible barriers are there to big data adoption;
3 How organisations are using big data to gain value.
Who responded
A total of 203 responses were received. About one thirds of respondents operate in the IT sector, while the rest work in a range of private and public sector organisations, from SMEs to global corporations.
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