Even though it hasn’t been long since the advent of big data, these attributes add up to a new era. It is clear from our research that large organizations across industries are joining the data economy. They are not keeping traditional analytics and big data separate, but are combining them to form a new synthesis. Some aspects of Analytics 3.0 will no doubt continue to emerge, but organizations need to begin transitioning now to the new model. It means change in skills, leadership, organizational structures, technologies, and architectures. It is perhaps the most sweeping change in what we do to get value from data since the 1980s.

It’s important to remember that the primary value from big data comes not from the data in its raw form, but from the processing and analysis of it and the insights, products, and services that emerge from analysis. The sweeping changes in big data technologies and management approaches need to be accompanied by similarly dramatic shifts in how data supports decisions and product/service innovation. There is little doubt that analytics can transform organizations, and the firms that lead the 3.0 charge will seize the most value.