Inability to Analyse Complete Data Sets and Siloed Working Cultures Preventing Organisations from Operating in Real Time

• Big data survey shows more than 50% of UK CIOs believe their organisations may be making critical decisions based on old business intelligence
• 69% of organisations investing in big data analytics do not have infrastructure in place to extract insights from their data sets in real-time which is preventing accurate data analysis
• Nearly 75% of CIOs agree that traditional siloed working practices are inhibiting the effectiveness of big data analytics within their organisation

Stoke Poges, U.K. — 13 June 2013 — Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., (TSE: 6501), today announced the results of its UK big data survey – ‘Route To Real Time’ – which highlights that more than half of UK organisations may be making business-critical decisions based on old or inaccurate information as they do not have the technology infrastructure or collaborative working cultures in place to operate in real time. The survey identified the barriers to real-time working within UK organisations.

“Siloed working practices and the inability to analyse information immediately in order to extract insights from all data sets is preventing organisations from getting an accurate, up-to-date picture of their current business environment. This means organisations can’t get the most value out of their data – insights that will allow them to innovate to transform their business,” said Hicham Abdessamad, senior vice president, Global Services, Hitachi Data Systems. “The future of business is real-time, and the foundation for technology and business management needs to be evaluated today to enable businesses to evolve and capture immediate market opportunities, act quickly on trends, and gain competitive advantage.”

Barriers to Real-Time Working

• Real Time Not a Reality
  
  • The survey, by research firm Vanson Bourne, of 200 IT decision-makers from UK organisations with more than 1,000 employees highlighted that 75 per cent of UK organisations are currently investing in big data analytics, and of these, 80 per cent are deploying solutions. Sixty-nine per cent of organisations investing in big data analytics agree that they do not have the infrastructure in place to analyse up-to-the-minute information across all their data sets.
  • Nearly three quarters of respondents who have deployed a big data analytics solution (74 per cent) can analyse only up to 50 per cent of their data sets, and 33 per cent of those with a deployed solution said they cannot analyse both structured and unstructured data.
  • 53 per cent of IT decision-makers surveyed agree that organisations are at risk of making business-critical decisions based on old or inaccurate data.
  • In addition, 60 per cent of CIOs feel they are unable to extract the full value of their information.

• Silos Preventing Progress
  
  • Almost three quarters of IT decision-makers said that traditional siloed working practices are inhibiting the use and effectiveness of Big Data analytics within their organisation.
  • Of the organisations (21 per cent) that do not have the infrastructure in place to enable lines of business to access relevant data in real time, 50 per cent of CIOs said the issue is that information being pulled is too complex for employees to understand, and 45 per cent said the business works in silos. A further 67 per cent agree that such silos ways of working are preventing business leaders from making transformative business decisions.
  • 82 per cent of all CIOs surveyed agree that a single dashboard which provides Big Data analytics for each line of business would be useful within their organisation.

Route to Real Time
“Technology infrastructure is not the only barrier halting real-time big data analytics in UK organisations; business culture is also proving to be a challenge,” said Stephen Ball, regional vice president and general manager, Hitachi Data Systems. “Traditional siloed working practices have inhibited information from being shared across different lines of business, which means people across the organisation are working with various data-sets which may not even correlate in terms of accuracy or timeframe, preventing them from taking full advantage of the insights they hold. To become more agile organisations need to break down the barriers and foster a collaborative working environment to enable them to move further towards a real time model. This will in turn evolve skills sets and create a more productive workforce.”

Bob Plumridge, chief technology officer (EMEA), Hitachi Data Systems, says there are four recommendations for organisations to break down the technology barriers to real-time working:

• Evaluate your existing infrastructure: How information is stored can directly impact an organisation’s ability to extract meaning in real time. Exploiting big data requires structured information management before an organisation’s data starts to show true business value.
• Take a strategic approach to storage: A more strategic approach to data storage will allow organisations to better utilise the data, which in turn can lead to better business performance. Organisations with effective storage strategies – that can capture data efficiently and mine it well in the first place – find it easier to unlock equity from that data. These are the organisations that find it the easiest to improve business efficiency, performance, customer service, and competitiveness.
• Use velocity as a key enabler for big data input and output: Organisations need high velocity storage as a core part of their infrastructure to enable them to extract real value from their information and act on it in real time.
• Deploy high-performance systems: Hitachi Data Systems offers the industry’s most scalable, high performance File and Content solutions, enabling a wide array of big data workloads to be completed faster and more cost-efficiently.

Supporting Quote

• Quocirca: “Despite the recent industry momentum that has built up around big data, we're constantly seeing organisations underestimating the opportunity and challenges of exploiting the data, which is often not far from their fingertips. While most have latched onto the concept of large volumes of data, many struggle with gaining insight in a sufficiently timely fashion from the breadth of information available. Data is often managed inconsistently, stored in multiple disparate locations or parts of the organisation, and ultimately not accessible to those who need it most, in a form they can readily digest, at the point of need. Smart use of big data turns it into an asset for positive change, rather than a drain on resources." – Robert Bamforth, principal analyst

About the research
Hitachi Data Systems commissioned independent research agency, Vanson Bourne, to survey 200 CIOs and IT decision-makers in the UK during May 2013. The survey targeted organisations with over 1,000 employees.

About Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems provides information technologies, services and solutions that help companies improve IT costs and agility, and innovate with information to make a difference in the world. Our customers gain compelling return on investment (ROI), unmatched return on assets (ROA), and demonstrable business impact. With approximately 6,000 employees worldwide, Hitachi Data Systems does business in more than 100 countries and regions. Our products, services and solutions are trusted by the world's leading enterprises, including more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and more than 80% of the Fortune Global 100. Visit us at http://www.hds.com/uk/.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2012 (ended March 31, 2013) totaled 9,041 billion yen ($96.1 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes infrastructure systems, information & telecommunications systems, power systems, construction machinery, high functional material & components, automotive systems and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com/.

Press Contacts:
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