A fistful of data

John Campbell says financial markets are making the most of the volumes of data out there

Many businesses claim they need a crystal ball to be able to take advantage of big data insights. To me it seems they are missing the point. Too much talk of big data appears to focus on the volumes organisations and partners grapple with.

Not enough emphasis is put on making the most of big data. There is clearly a preoccupation with the amount of information, rather than a focus on how to extract insight from it.

Is this kind of insight really beyond our reach? I don't think so.

Often organisations do not give users the tools to make their own discoveries happen, which is an opportunity for resellers.

Judging by our customers' needs, the onus should be on enabling organisations to empower their employees. Ensuring data is downloaded and stored in an easily accessible fashion is important for reporting and referencing purposes, but mining it is the key to learning and growing as a business.

Financial institutions are embracing business insight tools to avoid another global financial meltdown. Backing up information and making it available for the long term is highly important for this industry.

It is just as important to be able to act on the here and now with easily accessible and digestible intelligence. Using IT and technology cleverly can bring forth new opportunities and give clarity to decisions and strategies, past and present.

Software can be used to manage risk, comply with regulations, spot opportunities, and increase margins, facilitating better, quicker decision making and arming employees with the right tools.

This makes the route to success as simple as possible.

There is nowhere to hide from big data. Multiple data trails are created every day, tracking special offers, tweets, and all kinds of information.

Multiple data insights are possible every day. You can bet that someone, somewhere is looking to use whatever information is available.But it is the potential impact it could have across a variety of sectors that gives it the ability to transform businesses for the better.

John Campbell is UK alliance director at QlikTech