62% of organisations to implement machine learning to Big Data by 2018

The research, conducted for SoftServe by Vanson Bourne in April, polled a cross-industry panel of decision-makers on the risks, challenges and opportunities they see as Big Data technology evolves. The data showed that Big Data Analytics technology, despite being relatively nascent, is already widespread with 86% of organisations having systems in place. Furthermore, medium to large organizations see it as a necessity and are receptive to new technologies that build upon Big Data Analytics.

Please find the full survey results here http://www.softserveinc.com/en-us/newsroom/knowledge-center/softserve-big-data-analytics-report/

Respondents were asked what they saw as the biggest area of opportunity for Big Data in comparison to traditional systems, with 62% agreeing that they consider real time analysis as the biggest area of opportunity today.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been capturing imaginations in the past year as Facebook announced plans for an army of 1.5 billion AI agents, and a Dutch-led consortium painted “The New Rembrandt” using machine learning. But perhaps equally surprising, enterprises are already looking seriously at machine learning for Big Data, having only made its appearance on the Gartner Hype Cycle in 2015. This development signifies how businesses are understanding the advantage of leveraging and building upon new Big Data technologies to produce valuable business insights.

“It’s not long ago we were visiting enterprises and having to explain why they should look at big data. Today in 2016, Big Data Analytics is already considered a necessity to remain competitive by 63% of organizations,” explains Serge Haziyev, VP Technology Services, SoftServe.  “It’s very encouraging that machine learning has featured so prominently in this survey. I find that businesses that take the plunge and implement machine learning techniques realize the benefits early on – it’s big a step forward because it delivers prescriptive insights enabling businesses to not only understand what customers are doing, but why.”

Financial services organizations are shown to value Big Data Analytics more than other industries, and are also early adopters when it comes to new technologies with an above average response of 67% citing it as a necessity to stay competitive and 68% expecting to implement machine learning for Big Data within the next two years. The manufacturing industry is close behind with 60% agreeing that Big Data Analytics is a necessity and 62% planning on implementing machine learning.

The survey also considered challenges and growing pains. The retail industry stood out as most concerned by data governance. All respondents agreed that it is more of a concern when implementing Big Data Analytics than with traditional systems. Overall 76% of companies agreed with this, indicating it remains a common concern across all industries.

The SoftServe Big Data Survey was completed by 300 respondents, made up of 100 UK and 200 US decision makers of medium to large organisations - 150 participants represented companies with 1,000 – 3,000 employees whilst the remaining 150 participants represented companies with over 3,000 employees. Respondents were broken down into six key industries: business and professional services, manufacturing, financial services, retail, distribution and transport, and other commercial sectors.