When it comes to big data, analytics and AI, the value does not come from collecting the data, or even from deriving some insight from it — value comes from just one thing: action.
When I started my first business in the mid-90’s I did what most first-time entrepreneurs do — I ordered business cards.
Actually, I first had to get an address and order a phone. After all, I couldn’t order business cards without them. Then it was setting up an accounting system, doing the legal paperwork, building a website, and, of course, writing a really long business plan.
I did everything except the things I should have been doing: telling my story and selling my solution.
But as is so often the case, I got too caught up in the mechanics and lost sight of my purpose. It took me a while to set myself straight.
The recent Strata Data Conference, produced by O’Reilly and Cloudera, reminded me of this powerful learning experience.
So much of the big data and analytics space — and, increasingly, the artificial intelligence (AI) market with which it is colliding — remains focused on the mechanics.
The mechanics are important, of course. But they are not the reason that any of these disciplines exist. When it comes to big data, analytics, and AI the value does not come from collecting the data, or even from deriving some insight from it — value comes from just one thing: action.
