Will 2015 be a make-or-break year for Big Data and analytics?

A lot has been said in recent years about the expected impact of Big Data and analytics on business, but how many digital and communications services providers can say they are truly making the most of their data? Research from the Peppers & Rogers Group shows that while 95 percent of telcos collect and store customer information, only 20 percent are actually able to draw insight from that data and take action.

We’ve reached a point in time in which companies know the importance of big data and are happy to take initial steps to collect as much information from their customers as possible. However, not many are following through to the next logical step – diving deep into this data through in-the-moment analysis to drive immediate, automated actions.

At Comptel, we believe 2015 will be the year that digital and communications services providers will take action. Here are 3 big reasons why 2015 is a make-or-break year for Big Data and analytics.

The New Buying Experience Demands It

We already know that there is more technology surrounding consumers today than ever before, and perhaps more critically, the relationship between consumers and technology is deeper than before. Mobile has created an era of well-connected buyers – which we call Generation Cloud – that expect their digital experiences to be instant, easy, convenient and targeted. Those expectations will only increase as more “smart” devices make their way into customers’ homes, cars and wardrobes.

To ensure that they are speaking to the right customers with the right message at the right time on the right device, telcos in 2015 will need a smarter and embedded layer of real-time predictive, ‘machine-learned’ analytics. The key capability will be context – will the data be able to provide highly specific, targeted, timely and accurate information instantly? On top of that, will operators be able to distil and refine that data to the last drop into insights quickly, and then just as fast, turn those insights into real revenue? In 2015, this must all happen in the data stream, close to the crude data source, in the blink of an eye. Put simply, Fast Data is the new Big Data.

Monetisation Opportunities Cannot Be Ignored

The revenue potential available to digital and communications service providers who make the most of analytics is too great to afford failure. Mobile, social and over-the-top (OTT) content providers have presented a bevy of monetisation opportunities that, if leveraged correctly, could drive dynamic new sources of revenue.

Our new book, Operation Nexterday, dives into these opportunities with more specificity, but the major takeaway for operators is the need to re-think everything with regards to policy and charging to be able to cut the product development cycles and increase their speed-to-launch and speed-to-revenue.

Predictive analytics will play an important part, because all these services and products will produce real-time, enriched business and operational data. That data will feed monetisation opportunities. For example, if a customer runs out of data and bandwidth right in the middle of watching a movie on Netflix, shouldn’t you provide a way for them to top-up and buy more that very second?

More digital and communications services providers will find ways to leverage fast, intelligent data effectively this year, and those that do will reap the ROI benefits Big Data has long promised.

Costs and Frustrations Are Mounting

What’s one simple reason why Big Data must start to deliver results in 2015? There is no other choice.

Buying into the hype, many corporations in recent years have spent heavily on data analytics platforms with the vision that their investment would open the floodgates to new revenue. Some were left frustrated, either because of slower-than-expected results, challenges to integrate the ever-increasing number of raw data sources and difficulties turning big data into real-time and contextual decisions and actions.

One recent survey of analytics practitioners found that 58 percent were challenged to draw actionable outcomes from the data they collected. That leaves frustrated chief executives asking, “Where’s the ROI?” putting more pressure on analytics professionals to overcome these challenges.

Operators that start thinking in terms of Fast Data – as opposed to simply big data – will be better poised to enjoy the ‘fruits of data’ in 2015.

To learn more about the power of turning Big Data and analytics into intelligent fast data, and the impact on your bottom link, download our new book, Operation Nexterday.