Before Big Data, clean data | TechRepublic

I've been hesitant to hop on the big data bandwagon while the term is ascending into the buzzword sky like fireworks.

Big Data: sparkly, but remember what it takes to get there
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Why?  Because I see in the hype the rush to leap right past the unsexy, heavy-lifting work that most companies need to do in order to make sense of the data they already have.  To think you can leap boldly forward without getting your house in order first is largely fantasy: great meat for research companies to pounce on, but hardly a true thing for business.

Furthermore, big data and the associated analytics it promises are tools.  Big data is an enabler for the dramatic personalization promised as part of the "era of you."  That is the important idea, that we can know more, in more places and in more situations, to bring the power of intelligent action to bear in ways that were not possible before.

Before Big Data, clean data | TechRepublic: