Most analysts predict that 2013 will be marked by a strong focus on Big Data, the Cloud, and mobility in the IT industry.

These emphases are primarily driven by businesses’ desire to enhance the customer experience while simultaneously improving operational effectiveness.

The Cloud: Empowering Business Users

The Cloud has emerged as a disruptive technology, empowering business users to bypass outdated IT-provided solutions and introduce new, unsanctioned technologies into their organizations. This shift allows for increased flexibility and agility, enabling companies to adapt to changing market demands more efficiently.

Mobility: Shaping Infrastructure Management

The rise of mobility has significantly impacted infrastructure management. Client-server architectures built on the Wintel platform are gradually giving way to mobile architectures dominated by tech giants like Apple, Google, and Samsung. This transition necessitates a reevaluation of existing infrastructure strategies to accommodate the growing prevalence of mobile devices.

The Impact on Data Management

These trends have had a profound impact on data management. Traditional large IT vendors often struggle to adapt quickly enough to address the integration and data management challenges posed by these disruptions. As a result, start-up vendors and specialized providers are rapidly emerging in the enterprise landscape, offering innovative solutions that incumbents cannot match.

The Rise of the Cloud Stack

Aaron Levie, CEO of Box, highlights the emergence of the cloud stack as the new paradigm. Previously, big vendors focused on providing comprehensive application suites, offering the theoretical benefit of reduced integration complexity. However, these stack solutions often fell short of delivering exceptional performance in specific areas. This outdated approach is no longer sufficient, and organisations are making a shift from application-centric to data-centric architectures.

With stack-based solutions employee records from Workday can be seamlessly loaded into Salesforce.com, cleansed and standardised by Precisely Trillium on Demand, or analysed using GoodData.

Embracing Openness and Agility

Cloud-based solutions have paved the way for a new level of openness, enabling organizations to derive better results from all their applications. Unlike sluggish incumbent stacks, these solutions can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively, supporting organizations of various sizes and addressing weaknesses in existing enterprise architectures.

Data Quality as a Priority

From a data quality perspective, organizations are increasingly seeking to leverage their existing systems to enhance the customer experience. In today’s tight economy, large-scale replacement projects are often impractical. Instead, organizations are looking to integrate core components, such as a data quality stack, that can seamlessly integrate into multiple existing systems. Leveraging vendor expertise and prebuilt data quality rules is crucial to maximizing return on investment (ROI).

Navigating Global Data Challenges

For many companies, tight market conditions are driving expansion into multiple geographies. Africa is a key market for many of our South African enterprise clients, while other emerging markets such as Russia, India, Poland and South America are also seeing significant investment.  

As companies expand into multiple geographies, they encounter unique data quality challenges. Different countries and regions introduce new languages, business practices, and legislative barriers that impact data management. Partnering with specialist global data quality companies can provide valuable insights and knowledge of local conditions, ensuring that data meets specific requirements.

Value of Specialized Data Management Providers

The consolidation of the data management market has witnessed large vendors acquiring numerous specialist MDM, data integration, and data quality providers. Unfortunately, this consolidation often leads to the loss of key passionate data management specialists who were instrumental in making the technology work effectively. Deploying a technology solution with an inexperienced team is unlikely to deliver the desired value.

Conclusion: Better, Not Bigger

Ultimately, in the realm of data management, bigger is not always better. Instead, organizations should prioritize better solutions that address their specific needs and deliver optimal performance. By embracing the transformative power of Big Data, the Cloud, and mobility, businesses can unlock the full potential of their data and gain a competitive edge in the market.