Data Explosion Is Set To Create Opportunities And Challenges

By Ed Miseta, Chief Editor, Clinical Leader

At one time data, any data, was incredibly valuable. It was gathered, cleaned, stored, and mined with the greatest of care, regardless of how good it was. It seemed any information must hold some value for companies. But that was before the information explosion. Today companies have data coming in so quickly, and from so many different sources, that many are not sure how to handle all of it. Add to that the fact that much of the data will have no use for companies whatsoever, and you begin to see the scope of the problem many firms are facing.  

At the recent Oracle Industry Connect in Boston, company president Mark Hurd started off the two-day event with a short presentation on the state of the industry. Noting the size of global commerce today is around $71 trillion, he queried the audience on how much of that spend is on IT. What do you think it is? If you’re like most of those in attendance, your guess was way too high. The answer: just $2 trillion. At less than 3% of the total, IT does not seem like a substantial portion. However, Hurd was quick to note that without that $2 trillion, the rest of the spending does not happen. There would be no stock trades, no plane tickets, almost no purchasing at all, and certainly no drug discovery. “Virtually everything in that $70 trillion is enabled by the $2 trillion,” says Hurd.