More small businesses than ever may be leasing IT equipment based on data from a new report.
A recent survey from Gartner, Inc. found 73 percent of respondents have invested or plan to invest in big data over the next two years. This marks a rise from 64 percent during 2013. Meanwhile, the number of businesses that said they have no plans for big data investment decreased from 31 percent in 2013 to 24 percent this year.
“Big data investment continues to be led by North America, with 47 percent of organizations reporting investment, up from 37.8 percent in 2013,” Nick Heudecker, research director at Gartner, stated in a press release. “All other regions experienced increases in investment over the last year.”
Lisa Kart, a research director at Gartner, went on to highlight how big data can help businesses.
“Big data can help address a wide range of business problems across many industries and for the third year in our study, both enhancing the customer experience and improving process efficiency are the top areas to address,” Kart said. “The most dramatic changes are in enhancing customer experience, especially in transportation, healthcare, insurance, media and communications, retail, and banking.”
Big data for small business
While more businesses are beginning to make use of big data, some small business owners may not think it applies to them, or even fully understand what big data is.
According to Mark Troester, global product marketing manager at SAS, big data comes down to the volume, variety and velocity of information. Essentially, any time a business is working with data that exceeds its storage or computing capabilities, investment in big data technology is vital.
In fact, small businesses may be more likely to rely on big data than larger companies, as they will likely reach a tipping point where the sheer volume of data becomes an issue more quickly than at organizations with large staffs and dedicated IT departments.
As technology advances, it will become an even more essential part of success for small businesses. However, investing in the technology necessary to stay one step ahead of the competition can be an expensive prospect. This makes IT equipment lease options an ideal solution.
An SAS report titled “Big Data: Harnessing a Game-Changing Asset” showed that 73 percent of people surveyed said collection of data increased “somewhat” or “significantly” over the previous year. If you count your business among this number, now is the time to start exploring your leasing options for the equipment you need.
