If I were a C-level at a company that is considering an investment in In-Memory technology, I would take heed of the key message in this insightful Aberdeen paper. The author presents the results of a recent Data Management for BI survey that clearly shows In-Memory technology is being leveraged by Best-In-Class organizations to leap further ahead of their competitors who are slow to adopt.
It really makes clear how the best are diving head-first in to the Big Data, Real-Time analytics revolution that is well underway. These organizations have mature, capable BI infrastructures, and are now exploiting the capabilities enabled by In-Memory technology.
This tells us that we can no longer view In-Memory as bleeding edge or a nice to have. In order to compete with the best, organizations need to know things like changes in customer behavior and preferences in as close to real-time as possible. This requires that the integration, distillation, and presentation of actionable analytics be made available as transactions occur. In-Memory is the technology that gets this done. When we can react in real-time to things like customer and competitive dynamics, we are in a better position to rule our destiny. If we wait days or weeks to learn of and act upon critical events, it is often too late.
The author also makes a point of stating that we must seek the solution that makes economic sense. For larger organizations that can justify the investment in one of the new In-Memory appliances like SAP HANA, an on-premise solution may be preferable. But for the Small and Medium enterprise, there is a way to leverage this technology without the big up-front investment. We can now license this technology in the cloud with a subscription pricing model. SAP HANA One is made available via Amazon Web Services and can be affordably accessed with zero up-front investment. It is yet another technology cost barrier that has been cast aside.
One final key point from the article that is really the linchpin in virtually all effective BI deployments: the people in the organization who act on the information. It is telling that the Best-in-Class companies report that the internal demand for Real-Time analysis grows at 46% per year- more than twice the rate of the industry average and the laggards. To me this means that the leaders have a data-driven decision culture facts rule the day. People are hungry for the information and know what to do with it. When we effectively leverage In-Memory, we unlock the most ambitious and imaginative potential of our people.
Read the Aberdeen whitepaper for yourself. Click the button to download In-Memory Computing: Enabling Real-Time Access to Big Data.
