TECHNOLOGY SPECTATOR: Mining a data glut

Australia's booming resources sector is facing a growing challenge dealing with data. If companies within the sector can learn how to analyse key figures, they'll gain a big advantage.

Technology Spectator

Big data can be big trouble if you don't know how to manage it. It's an issue that's causing more than a few headaches for Australian companies sitting on a mountain of information but still coming to grips with how to use it to their advantage.

This disconnect is not only putting the brakes on productivity but hurting the economy to the tune of up to four billion dollars a year according to storage vendor Hitachi Data Systems' second bi-annual Great Information Glut report. What's alarming is that our resources sector isn't exactly immune from that malady either. If anything, the nature of the industry and the commodities boom actually poses a unique set of problems for companies.

One key driver underpinning the information overload is the rapid digitisation of society which, in turn, has led to companies deploying more technology. As more information is generated the need for effective data storage and management solutions grows.