Top 13 articles from the festive period

Big data analytics give enterprises faster access to their own data more than before. The trend of big data remains a high priority for businesses in 2014. Organizations indicate that the top benefits that they have already realized are greater scalability, faster access to infrastructure, higher availability, and faster time to market for applications.

Look, I get it. Visual analytics companies such as Tableau, Panorama and Birst (as well as countless others) are trying to capitalize on department-driven analytics platform purchases by essentially saying "You don't need IT any more".

When a technical term enters "buzz" status, definitions change and meaning can get lost. This is arguably the case with "business intelligence," or BI. In the time since the BI term was coined, new technologies have greatly expanded our understanding of BI and how businesses can gain value from data.

2014 Has been a massive year for Big Data, as it transitioned from an emerging and exciting technology to a somewhat overused buzzword for any application of data science. This was reflected earlier in the year by Gartner's always insightful ' hype cycle ', where we saw the term drop off the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations', and begin its descent into the 'Trough of Disillusionment'.

We're nearing the end of the year, and we all know what that means... Time for rankings of all kinds! Our contribution to the rankings is a list of our top 10 blog posts from 2014. It's a list covering several aspects of the business intelligence industry mixed with some visionary thinking.

Sian Davies One of the nicest things about living in a city where rent is frighteningly out of proportion to average salaries is that most people share a roof with strangers, who later become friends.

The bottom line for organizations is that the added focus of software providers on better BI accessibility and increasing governed data access provides a more holistic framework to data access. Being able to embed analytics within daily operations or as part of a customer facing application while taking advantage of the broader capabilities BI vendors now have to offer, also supports better competitive advantage by leveraging integrated technologies.

You probably already know 'Big Data' is top of mind heading into 2015. How could you not? You are hearing about it constantly from vendors and journalists alike (guilty as charged). And you know what that hype says, right?

Big data. As its name says, it's both extremely huge and extremely important. But nothing else can be said about it besides this. Though many have tried to define it, it's still a relatively vague term. Let's say it brings under itself every kind of data, from years to years-to-come.

The big data is bringing upon revolutionary changes in businesses. Unlike in the past when the focus was on quantity, not it is about value. Businesses are analyzing data patterns to derive quality insights to not just improve customer experience, but to enhance efficiency of internal operations.

One can get easily confused in discussing predictive analytics, or business intelligence, then adding the term big data in the mix. With this market being so enormous with many claims of unparalleled competitive edge, a few simple insights around the market playbook can help us all learn more rapidly.

Ray Major Each year, I work with dozens of clients in a quest to help them effectively implement their Business Intelligence systems. And each year, based on my experiences, I have put together a top 10 list of trends and predictions for the upcoming year.

For this post, I'll be gazing into my crystal ball to predict the moves that big data will make in the coming year. As with all predictions, we have to take those with caution because some of them might not turn out to be true.