Investments in big data technologies are continuing to rise but are showing signs of contracting, according to a recent survey by Gartner Inc.
The firm conducted an online survey of 199 members of its Gartner Research Circle in June 2016, and found that 48% have invested in big data in 2016, up three percent from 2015. But those who plan to invest in big data within the next two years fell from 31% to 25% in 2016.
"Investment in big data is up, but the survey is showing signs of slowing growth with fewer companies having a future intent to invest," said Nick Heudecker, research director at Gartner.
"The big issue is not so much big data itself, but rather how it is used. While organizations have understood that big data is not just about a specific technology, they need to avoid thinking about big data as a separate effort."
Organizations are moving from vague notions of data and analytics to specific business problems that data can address, the report said. "Its success depends on a holistic strategy around business outcomes, skilled personnel, data and infrastructure," Heudecker said.
While nearly three quarters of the survey respondents said their organization has invested or is planning to invest in big data, many remain stuck at the pilot stage. Only 15% reported deploying their big data project to production, effectively unchanged from last year (14%).
