Big Data and Business Intelligence: Debunking the Myths

Offering unprecedented levels of intelligence concerning the habits of consumers and rivals, big data promises to revolutionize the way enterprises are run. And yet, the concept of big data is one of the most poorly understood terms in business today. The implications for big data analytics are not as straightforward as they might seem—particularly when it comes to the so‐called dark data from social media. Increases in the volume of data, the velocity with which they are generated and captured, and the variety of formats in which they are delivered all must be taken into account. To make the best use of the ever‐burgeoning store of knowledge and insight at their fingertips, organizational leaders must confront two commonly held fallacies: that methodological issues no longer matter and that big data offers a complete and unbiased source of information on which to base their decisions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.