Although it’s technically more of an observation or speculation rather than a true theoretical principle, “Moore’s law” is now commonly used to describe the driving force of technological change over the past fifty years.
In case you’ve forgotten, Moore’s law is named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, who predicted back in 1965 that the number of transistors on integrated circuits would double approximately every two years. Ever since then, Moore’s law has become somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as chip manufacturers have, indeed, kept pace.
Recently, some are seeing evidence that the era of Moore’s law is coming to an end –at least as it applies to chip manufacturing. Interestingly, though, data growth is on the upswing, accelerating at rates that actually exceed Moore’s law. (One study forecasts a nearly 45-fold annual data growth by 2020.)
What does this explosion of digital information mean for today’s businesses?
Analytics are essential. Yes, collecting and storing data are also more critical than ever. But those two steps will only get you so far. As I’ve said before, the data by itself does not provide value. It’s the analytics and the analysis that provide value. There is infinite value in the vast resources of exponential data –if you can unlock the meaningful patterns, the insights, in the data.
More people throughout the enterprise will need access to data-driven insights. Since data-driven insights can improve the performance of virtually every department, big data analytics are quickly moving beyond the purview of the data scientist. Analytics can super-charge your sales organization. Analytics can empower your finance team. Analytics leads to innovation in R&D. The list goes on and on, and that means your big data strategy must be comprehensive and integrated.
More people throughout the enterprise will need to act on data-driven insights. The CMO, the CFO, the HR director who’s researching potential candidates . . . they all need to inform their decisions based on data-driven insights. As big data and its associated tools become more and more prevalent (at rates that actually exceed Moore’s law), business leaders will increasingly rely on the transparency, accountability and even predictive capabilities provided by data analytics.
Winners will be agile and flexible. As Moore’s law illustrates, technology continually progresses, impacting the customer experience at every twist and turn along the way. Your approach to effective analytics will need to continuously evolve. For example, it may be beneficial for you to consider accommodating approximate answers?
Is your business ready for accelerating data growth? What strategies will you implement to help you realize value from data?