Big data investment set to soar

Gartner claims investment in big data is to rocket this year, but EMEA region to lag behind in uptake

Some 64 per cent of companies plan to invest in big data technology this year, if they have not already done so, according to Gartner. But the market watcher added that EMEA is lagging behind in adoption of the technology.

According to the analyst's recent survey of 720 tech decision makers, 64 per cent of companies either have invested in big data already, or plan to do so in the next couple of years – up from 58 per cent last year. Some 30 per cent have already invested in the tech, with 19 per cent and 15 per cent planning to do so in the next one and two years respectively.

Despite the strong growth, Gartner said EMEA and Latin American uptake will lag behind that in the North America and Asia-Pacific regions. Some 38 per cent of organisations in the former region said they have invested in tech to address big data, while 45 per cent in the latter said the same – a figure Gartner branded "notably ambitious". It added EMEA and Latin America tend to be behind on new tech uptake – a trend not bucked by big data.

The media, banking and services markets are leading interest in big data, the analyst added, with 39 per cent of media and communication firms claiming to have already invested in big data tech, followed by 34 per cent in banking companies and 32 per cent in services businesses. Markets looking to dip their toe into big data in the coming two years will be led by transport, healthcare and insurance.

"The hype around big data continues to drive increased investment and attention, but there is real substance behind the hype," said Lisa Kart, research director at Gartner. "Our survey underlines the fact that organisations across industries and geographies see opportunity and real business value rather than the smoke and mirrors with which hypes usually come."

While big data technology is clearly enjoying growth, Gartner said this year will be for experimentation and early adopters. Only eight per cent of those it surveyed said they had actually deployed big data technology.

"For big data, 2013 is the year of experimentation and early deployment," said Frank Buytendijk, research vice president at Gartner. "Adoption is still at the early stages, with less than eight per cent of all respondents indicating their organisation has deployed big data solutions.

"Twenty per cent are piloting and experimenting, 18 per cent are developing a strategy, 19 per cent are knowledge gathering, while the remainder has no plans or don't know."