Data is the future, but few understands it

After seeing the mighty power that data brought to some (very few) tech companies, I hear a lot about how collecting ALL data is the best thing to do in IT today. There are fewer references for proper use of the accumulated data, including results.

I suspect that most companies do not know how to use the data collected and they keep it (making storage vendors rich), hoping that in some future it will all make sense.

If the past is of any reference, this is a repetition old fashion of having a Data warehouse. Except for a few companies (big retails, insurances, banks), it was an exercise in futility; the cost was high, the use cases limited, the elaboration costly and the results usually ignored due to the “gut-feeling” of an exec. Unless you are working on people habits (big retails, insurances, banks) and have massive data (big retails, insurances, banks) and the money (big retails, insurances, banks), trying to use the past to predict the future is a recipe for failure.

Today it feels the same is happening again, with different buzz words, 10 times more data, but the same winners.

Just a thought, what are yours?

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