In doing research on why big data is not enough and customer insights teams are disconnected from business operations, Brian Hopkins and I came across three hugely important things happening:

  1. Firms are adopting systems of insight — insights teams with business, data, and developer skills using an insights-to-execution process and taking advantage of a new insights architecture. This is what our new big idea report is about.
  2. Service providers are building insights practices with reusable technology, reusable insights models (including some with cognitive capabilities), and reusable engagement models for an industry or business function. Deloitte Digital and now IBM specialize in this, but many other service providers are recrafting their analytics practices to jump in.
  3. Vendors are forming insights ecosystems. IBM signals the power and importance of this phenomenon in doing deals with Twitter, The Weather Channel, and now Facebook. The resulting data-rich insights architecture will give IBM an advantage to bring insights — not just technology — to market. I believe every enterprise and vendor will either own or participate in the insights ecosystems driving their business. There will be many insights ecosystems for business functions like retail, micro-marketing, human capital management, supply chain optimization, delivery optimization as well as in every industry: banking, automotive, media, manufacturing, and so on. What insights ecosystems are you part of today? Which ones will give you advantage tomorrow?

It's time to expose the power of insights for what it is: Digital insights are the new currency of business.