A study by research firm IDC Canada warns Canadian businesses are at risk of falling behind their international competitors when it comes to big data. Coincidentally, SAS Institute, which sponsored the study, has solutions that can help.
According to the data, 96 per cent of Canadian companies say the ability to process and act on data in real-time is important, but only 48 per cent actually have the tools to do it. Decisions around big data adoption are also being made below the c-suite level, with mid-level IT managers exercising the decision-making authority. The report indicates the CIO must set the strategy here.
“Organizations that have begun to embrace Big Data technology and approaches are demonstrating that they can gain competitive advantage by being able to take action based on timely, relevant, complete, and accurate information, rather than guesswork. Meanwhile the challenges of data management and analytics in the intelligent economy are likely to overwhelm organizations that are not conversant with Big Data technologies,” said Nigel Wallis, research director for IDC Canada, in a statement. “For Canadian organizations to take full advantage of the transformative potential of their data, they need to approach it strategically. That starts with executive understanding and ownership of data as differentiator and an end to the pattern of delegation that has so far characterized Canadian technology adoption.”
Source: IDC Canada.
What’s the answer? IT World Canada editor spoke with Carl Farrell, executive vice-president of SAS Americas, who indicated investment in real-time analytics is necessary for businesses to ride the big data wave. Click below to read their full Q&A.