Big data this, big data that. The popular Silicon Valley buzzword has become so ubiquitous — the term was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary last year — that it seems to mean everything and nothing at the same time.
Big data will transform industries! Change the way we work and live! Alter the future of computing as we know it! (Imagine the confusion among executives who feel competitive pressure to actually incorporate the concept into their business.)
The benefits of big data are still nebulous for some, but the marketing industry faces a slightly clearer proposition. For marketers, harnessing complex data sets about a target audience could produce more effective campaigns and measurable competitive advantage. Which may be why more than two-thirds of organizations expect to ramp up spending on data management services in the next year, according to a recent report from Forrester Research, and 41% expect to increase spending between 5% and 10% in the next year.
“It’s not really a question of big data as much as it’s a question of the right data,” Forrester principal Sheryl Pattek says. “It’s about turning data into insights that you can act on to drive business.”
