Spencer Stuart: Big Data and the Future of Business

The digital transformation has had major impact on business and society since the advent of the Internet. In a recent report Spencer Stuart invited three leaders in the digital world to consider the future trends and how leaders should address the risks and opportunities.

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Michael Chui, Principal of McKinsey Global Institute: “We believe that big data and data analytics are going to be incredibly important, certainly in the short to medium term. It is becoming a basis of competition in every industry. Companies that learn how to use data effectively are going to be more likely to win in the marketplace and those that don’t are going to fall behind.

It’s challenging because this isn’t a capability that you build and then you’re forever ahead of your competitors; it really is a run-faster business. Your competitors are always going to be trying to catch up with you or leapfrog in front of you, so you really have to become a learning organization in order to succeed at it.

We recently released a report on open data, which is data that becomes more liquid, shared amongst multiple organizations and consumers. Open data can become an instrument for breaking down information gaps across industries, allowing companies to share benchmarks and spread best practices that raise productivity. Sometimes you have to pay for it and sometimes there are restrictions on its use, but it can give rise to novel, data-driven innovations benefitting both businesses and consumers.”

This article is part of Spencer Stuart’s Point of View 2014.

The full article is published on Spencer Stuart’s website. Read the full article.