From gatherers to analysts – the new insight value chain?

This week’s edition of The Economist focusses on what it calls ‘The Data Deluge’, a discussion of how the rapidly accelerating volume of information available about all aspects of modern life is transforming the way we do business.

We are moving from a world where information was scarce to one where it is becoming superabundant, a world where a megabyte ( 2²⁰ bytes) used to be a worryingly large amount of information to analyse but where we are now starting to worry about dealing with Yottabytes – that 2⁸⁰bytes!

For the research and insight industry, the implications of an explosion in the amount of data available are profound. In a world of scarce information, those who could somehow gather data and shed light on the truth were valued and feted. In a world of superabundant information, those who offer a teaspoonful of insight are less likely to be noticed. as the real stars will be those who can make sense of, and draw insight from, vast amounts of data quickly and reliably.

To remain relevant to data hungry and fast moving industries, we have to move from being an industry where value was derived from providing scarce information, to one where value is derived from connecting and interpreting the vast amounts of infomation available, to help clients make better business decisions faster.