Principal of Consultants 2 Go

What significant changes did Big Data segment witness in 2013?

We work primarily with marketing organizations and it became apparent to many of our clients that they need a comprehensive strategy to harness the mass of information both inside and outside of the business. The challenge for these organizations is to turn this data into meaningful information so that they can use it to run their businesses and serve their customers. Particularly critical is the need to integrate unstructured data into their information systems so they can get a complete picture of their customers. One of the most pressing areas for our clients was how do we integrate social media data into our infrastructure so we can get that complete picture.

What did these changes mean to vendors and customers?

With the dominance of digital marketing now transforming the entire industry, there is a tremendous need for speed when it comes to business intelligence. It also needs to be on the desktops and at their fingertips. Our clients need to be able to react to an ever-changing environment so they can successfully reach their customers and generate results for their campaigns. This means that suppliers have to be nimble and provide business intelligence in new and creative ways.

What are some of the changes you had anticipated would happen in 2013 but did not happen?

While companies are making strides in integrating unstructured data into their information systems, it is not happening as quickly as some thought. These are complex issues so it is not totally surprising.

Can you paint us the picture of how the landscape for this industry segment will change in 2014? What are some of the broader trends you are closely watching?

Privacy issues and protecting customer information will continue to dominate the conversation. Governance, government compliance and security will be a driving force in how business processes evolve and data and information are compiled.  Furthermore, the need for greater business intelligence and analytics will only intensify in the coming years and will drive decision making.

How would customer spend change in 2014 for Big Data segment? What makes you think customers will be buying more/ less?

Spending in this area will only increase. This is an imperative for most businesses and especially the marketing teams. We expect increased spending in the areas of analytics and business intelligence.

What's in store for your company in 2014?

We are expanding our analytics practice so that we can meet the growing needs of our clients. We have introduced new tools and dashboards so that our clients can get their information on their desktops.  In a digital world, marketing managers need to make decisions in real time so they can maximize their campaign results, so having useful intelligence at their fingertips is critical.

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