Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Of course, the metaphor that may resonate with you is largely determined by
your organizational capacity. Are you like 73 percent of a recently surveyed
group of U.S. business and IT executives who admit converting large data
volumes into actionable intelligence remains a challenge? 8 Or are you like
more than one-half of a representative sample of business leaders in the
world that say that they have more data than they know what to do with?
Do you view data as crude oil, something to be extracted, processed, and
refined, a precious resource that must be converted if it is to be transformed
into something of value? Or like gold, something to be targeted and mined?
Or maybe a fire hose, essential when there's a fire, but overpowering when
you just want a drink?
Clearly, embedded in these metaphors are a range of attitudes toward the data
boom—from a fever pitch of excitement to dire warnings about the use (and
abuse) of big data, warnings seemingly substantiated by high-profile data leaks.
Falling somewhere in between these two extremes are the vast majority of
people, individuals who view data as valuable but are frustrated by an inability
to capitalize on its value. Even leading research company Gartner sees big
data slipping into the trough of disillusionment as interest begins to wane and
organizations become frustrated as implementations fail to deliver value. 9
So what has caused the fall? Why are many beginning to lose faith in the pos-
sibility and promise of data?
Simply stated, there is a growing recognition among many that gathering data,
developing sophisticated storage systems, and hiring data scientists will not
automatically translate into a competitive advantage. The efforts of countless
executives, healthcare companies, school districts, and other governmental
and nongovernmental organizations are a testament to this. A 2013 survey
of companies that have implemented business intelligence solutions, shows
that just 28 percent feel that the investment has delivered significant business
impact. 10 The frustration with data, then, stems not merely from failed expec-
tations, but from the inability of many end users to be thoughtful producers,
consumers, and users of it. This topic attempts to remedy this problem at
both the individual and organizational level.
OuR DATA FLuENCY FRAMEWORk
With the goal of helping you unlock the potential of data for individual work,
for collaborative working teams, and entire organizations, we have developed
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