http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/big-data-analytics-and-the-path-from-insights-to-value/

I have pasted a few snippets from this paper - it's pretty impressive - and despite the press, analyst and vendor driven hype about Big Data, despite the ongoing debate about Big Data, Small Data, Business Intelligence, what is written here manages to transcend all of that... if you are thinking seriously about data in your organization, you need to read this. 

The source of the pressure is not hard to ascertain. Six out of 10 respondents cited innovating to achieve competitive differentiation as a top business challenge. The same percentage also agreed that theirorganization has more data than it can use effectively. Organizational leaders want analytics to exploit their growing data and computational power to get smart, and get innovative, in ways they never could before.

Senior executives now want businesses run on data-driven decisions. They want scenarios and simulations that provide immediate guidance on the best actions to take when disruptions occur — disruptions ranging from unexpected competitors or an earthquake in a supply zone to a customer signaling a desire to switch providers. Executives want to understand optimal solutions based on complex business parameters or new information, and they want to take action quickly.

These expectations can be met — but with a caveat. For analytics-driven insights to beconsumed — that is, to trigger new actions across the organization — they must be closely linked to business strategy, easy for end-users to understand and embedded into organizational processes so that action can be taken at the right time. That is no small task. It requires painstaking focus on the way insights are infused into everything from manufacturing and new product development to credit approvals and call center interactions.

Top performers approach business operations differently than their peers do. Specifically, they put analytics to use in the widest possible range of decisions, large and small. They were twice as likely to use analytics to guide future strategies, and twice as likely to use insights to guide day-to-day operations. (See “The Analytics Habits of Top Performers.”) They make decisions based on rigorous analysis at more than double the rate of lower performers. The correlation between performance and analytics-driven management has important implications to organizations, whether they are seeking growth, efficiency or competitive differentiation.

Data Is Not the Biggest Obstacle

Despite popular opinion, getting the data right is not a top challenge that organizations face when adopting analytics. Only about one out of five respondents cited concern with data quality or ineffective data governance as a primary obstacle.

The adoption barriers that organizations face most are managerial and cultural rather than related to data and technology. The leading obstacle to widespread analytics adoption is lack of understanding of how to use analytics to improve the business, according to almost four of 10 respondents. More than one in three cite lack of management bandwidth due to competing priorities. (See “The Impediments to Becoming More Data Driven.”)

Information Must Become Easier to Understand and Act Upon

Executives want better ways to communicate complex insights so they can quickly absorb the meaning of the data and take action. Over the next two years, executives say they will focus on supplementing standard historical reporting with emerging approaches that make information come alive. These include data visualization and process simulation as well as text and voice analytics, social media analysis and other predictive and prescriptive techniques.

What Leaders Can Do to Make Analytics Pay Off — A New MethodologyReduced time to value. Value creation can be achieved early in an organization’s progress to analytics sophistication. Contrary to common assumptions, it doesn’t require the presence of perfect data or a full-scale organizational transformation.

Increased likelihood of transformation that’s both significant and enduring.The emerging methodology we’ve identified enables and inspires lasting change (strategic and cultural) by tactically overcoming the most significant organizational impediments.

Greater focus on achievable steps. The approach used by the smartest companies is powerful in part because each step enables leaders to focus their efforts and resources narrowly rather than implementing universal changes — making every step easier to accomplish with an attractive ROI.

[RECOMMENDATION 1]  First, Think Biggest - Focus on the biggest and highest-value opportunities

[RECOMMENDATION 2] Start in the Middle - Within each opportunity, start with questions, not data

[RECOMMENDATION 3] Make Analytics Come Alive - Embed insights to drive actions and deliver value

[RECOMMENDATION 4] Add, Don’t Detract - Keep existing capabilities while adding new ones

[RECOMMENDATION 5] - Build the Parts, Plan the Whole - Use an information agenda to plan for the future