TECHNOLOGY enablers like cloud computing and socialmedia – which generates huge amounts of crowd-sourceddata – are putting enormous amounts of information inthe hands of companies. These data sets are called Big Da-ta to distinguish them from more traditional data sets.New analytics programmes have been developed to minethis information and provide actionable information al-most at real time. Taken all together these mega technolo-gy trends are changing the way companies do business,much the same way the Internet did at the turn of this cen-tury. Most organisations understand that there’s some-thing fundamentally different happening. However, theyare struggling to make sense of this rapid change. BTbrought together a group of industry experts to discussboth the opportunities as well as risks that the combina-tion of Big Data, analytics and cloud computing present tocompanies for a Roundtable discussion. Excerpts:

Amit Roy Choudhury: When cloud computing first startedgaining traction, I asked a CIO of a large multinational heropinion about the cloud. She shot back, “Tell me how dif-ferent is it from virtualisation except for the scale, what’sthe big deal?” I suspect, if I put the same question to heror any other CIO today the answer would be a quite differ-ent because the use of Big Data and new analytics toolsare being facilitated via cloud computing. Could I haveyour opinion on how you think the paradigm of how com-panies do business is changing?

Arun Chandrasekaran: Big Data is one of the most hypedterms in the market today. End-user organisations recog-nise that there is something fundamentally different inboth business demands and technology solutions, whilestruggling with identifying the benefits that can accrue tothe organisation from the ability to achieve new businessinsight from large and complex datasets.

In some ways, the use of Big Data in industries is a con-tinuation of leveraging data, processing it and applying an-alytics for enhanced business insight. However, Gartner’sBig Data definition points to leveraging new volumes,speeds, sources and types of data, and using innovativeforms of information processing to make better – and, inmany cases, faster – business decisions. Leading-edge or-ganisations compete by extracting insight from data. Busi-nesses are moving from historical analysis (hindsight) toreal-time analytics (insight) with increasing need for pre-dictive analytics (foresight). Business analytics, with ac-tionable predictive analysis, can offer a sustainable com-petitive advantage for businesses in today’s digital econo-my.

Marcus Cheng: Cloud computing plays a vital role in provid-ing a more economical model for all organisations, espe-cially SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses), toadopt. With the shift from Capex (capital expenditure) toOpex (operational expenditure), companies need not buytheir own hardware and software and this gives them theflexibility to handle ad hoc requirements while keepingthe cost low since it is on a pay-as-you-use basis. This isespecially beneficial to SMBs, which typically have a lowerbudget. Furthermore, with cloud computing, organisa-tions do not need to understand the complexity of how itworks, giving them more time to focus on their core busi-nesses.

The use of cloud computing to facilitate Big Data analyt-ics has reshaped the way companies do business andreach out to their customers. This change in the businesslandscape will be more evident in the near future as theadoption rate increases, redefining business trends.

Eng Kheng Koh: The CIO’s reaction would have been nor-mal a few years ago, but obviously now, most understandthat virtualisation is an enabler for cloud computing andhelps to expedite the provisioning process in the cloud.What people were missing back then is that you don’thave to build it yourself. You can now buy a service fromone of many cloud providers, pay for what you get withoutthe need to build your own data centre.

With regard to Big Data and analytics, most organisa-tions’ don’t capture the intellectual property (IP) that ex-ists in unstructured data (up to 70 per cent of data is un-structured and resides outside databases or the Data Cen-tre – on laptops, tablets and other devices). In too manycircumstances duplicated, non-business related data is ac-tually filling up expensive and resource intensive storageassets within a business. It is only by being able to interro-gate, analyse and then effectively extract informationfrom that data that businesses can derive advantage fromthe huge amounts of data that sits in their systems. This isnot simply about managing Big Data effectively – it isabout transforming it to “smart” data.

Tan Hoon Chiang: As the saying goes, “A disciple is notabove his teacher, and a slave is not above his master”,the analysis tools are not as good as the person who devel-oped the tools. In other words, the applied data analystand the scientist who design the tools used contributegreatly to the outcomes of the tools and what business val-ues the tools are designed to deliver. Companies take timeto learn the ropes and appreciate the values generatedover time from how Big Data is delivered using cloud com-puting. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and potentialcan be seen in the areas of big data analytic tools and di-versities of its usage based on business domains.

Amit: In your view how can Singaporean companies useor harness these three major technology trends not onlyto increase their business but interact with their stake-holders, including customers? Please give some insightsto your organisation’s experiences in this area.

Kheng Koh: The critical thing here, is to understand dataand capture meta data pertinent to all of it. The first thingorganisations must do is find out where their data is, howit is used and who is using it. When this is understood, de-cisions can be made about where it should be stored andused and how it might be shared with those who have theauthority to see it. We have seen from working with ourcustomers that when correctly implemented, processeslike this can increase productivity by up to 50 per cent,while also reducing time of operations management andcosts by up to 50 per cent.

The final component that understanding where yourdata resides allows a true understanding of what data canand should be deleted. Too often this element is over-looked, but being able to eliminate data which is truly use-less to the organisation also delivers considerable cost sav-ings. Of course this can only be done when proven, ap-proved and 100 per cent accurate tagged data manage-ment processes are in place that allow that.

Marcus: Most of the organisations understand the impor-tance of BI (business intelligence) and its benefits. Howev-er, most of them do not have the knowhow, resources andbudget to gather such information in a cost-efficient man-ner. Furthermore, to the smaller organisations with limit-ed budget, it is more of a “good to have” rather than a“must have”.

Having said that, by using these technologies, organisa-tions can now access BI solutions, which were not availa-ble to them previously. It costs a fraction of the price, andgives the organisations the ability to reach out to theirstakeholders more effectively. Knowledge is power and

the efficient usage of analytics definitely empower organi-sations, enabling them to strategise better and make bet-ter informed business decisions.

For IT organisations that provide cloud computing ser-vices, they can harness these technologies and “package”it as a value-added service, creating a domain-specific so-lution. This has higher barrier of entry and can help themgain competitive advantage.

Arun: The first component in any big data strategy is therecognition that big data initiatives are different from oth-er business and IT initiatives in a variety of ways. Big datainitiatives are all about change – changing business pro-cesses, data sources, infrastructure, architecture, skills,organisational structures and economics. They often re-sult, not in incremental improvements to existing busi-ness processes, but in radical changes to existing pro-cesses or even their outright displacement. Among someprogressive, nimble and risk-embracing organisations,big data initiatives are already paying handsome re-wards. From early predictors that enable unprecedentedagility, to targeted personalisation that generates goodwilland revenue boosts, to previously impossible product andprocess innovations, Big Data has proven it can be a gamechanger for enterprises and industries.

Cloud computing can transform the way IT is being de-livered, ushering in much-needed agility and efficiency ofIT infrastructure and alignment of IT with business. ITleaders, in general, are optimistic about the impact ofcloud and are keen to embrace it with the right checksand balances. Business agility, IT efficiency, and ability tofocus on core competency are the three most cited rea-sons by IT leaders in Asia Pacific for embarking on cloudinitiatives. Business leaders are also drawn to the cloudmodel by the promise of operational efficiencies, especial-ly the cost savings that are – at least in theory – made pos-sible by the cloud’s economies of scale. But the cloud isnot just about cost cutting. Enterprises are increasinglydrawn to the cloud by new capabilities, especially Big Da-ta, which is emerging as the true killer app for the cloud.For consumer-facing organisations, understanding usercontextual information leads to dramatic improvementsin customer loyalty and revenue.

Hoon Chiang: Collaboration through technology is the keythrust for creating synergy among the different businessprocesses for the organisation.

First of all, we must define the core business objectivesfor the organisation; for example, NIE is committed to ourvision of being an institute of distinction and achieving ex-cellence in teacher education and educational research.Next, we must understand that not all data collected arerelevant and useful for the improvement and performanceof the business. A clear scope and good range of data col-lection methods and its accompanying strategies can helpmake beneficial assumptions that propel these data intouseful information.

Finally, inculcating lean thinking in the organisationcan further encourage the use of the right tools and infor-mation systems in the business process re-engineering forthe organisation.

Amit: The Asia Pacific region’s appetite for cloud comput-ing seems to be insatiable and some research reportsseem to suggest that that by 2016, the region may lead theworld in cloud adoption. Coupled with this is the huge en-thusiasm for mobility which, in turn, is driving the con-sumerisation of IT. Your thought on this?

Kheng Koh: The Asia Pacific region is definitely leading theworld in cloud adoption, which is driven largely by theconsumer. This is due to the fact that post-PC technologyis more readily accepted and used by the younger, moretech-savvy, mobile population in this geography. Asia Pa-cific will (and already has been seen to) “skip” some of thetechnology cycles that were prevalent when some of thelarger Western economies were adopting computing. Agood example of this is the considerably reduced need tobuild your own expensive data centre any more as it’snow quite natural to store data on cloud based servicesand not on your own storage devices (corporate or person-al). In Singapore, with our generally accepted status as ahub for secure, low-cost Data Centre access, this is espe-cially true.

Hoon Chiang: Consumerisation of IT services means moreoptions and choices for IT consumers. However, thesechoices favour personalised IT services rather than corpo-rate IT services. The short-term impact of consumerisa-tion would be an enhanced user experience, and subse-quently, consumers expect a similar experience with cor-porate IT services. User experience can refer to the easyaccess of information and faster fulfilment of their person-al IT needs that lead to user satisfaction. Users can hencebecome impatient and have a lower threshold of tolerancein the way corporate IT services are delivered as com-pared to the quicker personalised IT services. Corporateentities must ensure accountability as security of data reston these 3rd party IT providers and there is a need toraise the awareness of handling sensitive data given thePersonal Data Protection Act (PDPA) recently passed inSingapore.

Arun: It is important to reiterate that there is a strong inter-est in adopting public cloud services by enterprises inAsia Pacific. Although the growth rates are healthy in theuptake of these services, we see some regional factors thatcurtail adoption of public cloud services (often in favour ofprivate cloud). They are:

◆ Unique business factors across the region: The primaryfactor is the strong prevalence of shared service models inkey Asia Pacific countries. This is particularly the case inJapan and Korea, which have a business landscape domi-

nated by huge, multinational conglomerates (Keiretsu andChaebol, respectively). It is common to find a large IT or-ganisation servicing an array of vertically integrated busi-nesses in a shared services/private cloud model.

◆ An immature telecommunications infrastructure insome countries: This is a consistent concern expressed toGartner by our clients in emerging countries when theyconsider the use of public cloud services.

◆ Established IT practices bound to cultural norms: Thiscombination does not make public cloud services unattrac-tive, per se. However, it creates inertia that maintains thestatus quo.◆ National regulation/concerns on data location: Mostpublic cloud data centres are located in the US, althoughsome are springing up in the Asia Pacific region. Whilethe region as a whole is a huge and aggregated market,most individual countries are not. Thus, the economicsmake it risky for public cloud services providers to investin local data centres in the region (at a country level), be-cause they can’t be scaled like those in the US. As a result,while customers in countries throughout the Asia Pacificregion express an interest in locally stored data, there’s aquestion about whether the price premium to obtain thisservice level will be paid by the customers.

Despite these apparent limitations, we are starting tosee several end-user organisations (particularly start-upfirms) in Asia Pacific exploiting the inherent agility andscalability advantages of cloud computing in a very effec-tive manner.

Marcus: For any technology to be widely adopted, the timehas to be right, the infrastructure has to be in place andthe technology needs to be ready for it. For instance, cloudcomputing existed years ago, but it only took off in recentyears. The reason is because, in the past, the infrastruc-ture was not in place and the technology has not matured;hence, the accessibility to the Internet was low, the cost ofconnecting was high and the Internet speed was slow -one can see the difference when we transit via a 56K wirein comparison to fibre-optic. The whole connectivity tothe Web is one of the key factors that is driving the adop-tion rate of cloud computing; thus, enabling the technolo-gy to be viable. Today, the technology has matured, andpeople have opened up, which is why a lot of organisa-tions are adopting cloud computing as their main IT mod-el.

Amit: Big Data and cloud computing are dependent on da-ta centres. The region, especially Singapore, has ambi-tions to become a data centre hub. How can IT teams whorun these DCs ensure security and data integrity?

Marcus: A responsible data centre operator has an obliga-tion to ensure that the necessary logical controls (systemsand operating procedures) are in place to safeguard cus-tomer data. The ISO 27001 information security standardhas been adopted by a majority of data centre operatorsand IT Service Providers for the management of customersystems and data. ISO 27001 provides a framework forthe ongoing review, assessment, treatment and monitor-ing of IT security risks. Government agencies and otherregulatory bodies have even taken this standard and usedit as a basis for developing policy and regulations govern-ing the protection of personal and confidential data.

In addition, the IT teams who run these data centresshould continually keep themselves abreast of the indus-try trends and best practices.

Kheng Koh: This is a question that’s always front of mind.The interesting thing is that most security breaches are in-ternal and often accidental (using non-corporate email tosend large attachments, thumb drives, lost PCs, tapes). Inmost cases, the cloud is actually safer than a private datacentre as you are contracting a provider to deliver a ser-vice and this provider’s business is to provide the contract-ed service when you need it, where you need it, based onthe SLA (service level agreements) which you are payingfor. Furthermore, most reputable cloud providers havevarious security accreditations from globally recognisedstandards bodies, something which some private data cen-tres don’t necessarily have.

Arun: At a minimum, IT leaders need to focus on the fol-lowing aspects:

◆ Establish a cross-functional team to align cloud comput-ing security governance with security organisations, ITgroups, and business units. Technology priorities varywith use cases. However, integrating cloud usage andmanagement with federated identity, account manage-ment workflows, provisioning, and event/log reportingtends to be required across most scenarios.

◆ Adopt a risk position based on data classification. To as-suage data leakage concerns, encrypt sensitive data andmaintain the keys, wherever possible. Invest in cloud datamonitoring tools that can integrate with on-premisestools.◆ Demand regular independent audits, continued adher-ence to standards such as International Organisation forStandardization (ISO) 27001 and availability of Service Or-ganisation Control 1 (SOC 1) type 2 report that has beenconducted in accordance with the Statement on Stand-ards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No 16.

◆ Contractually define the roles, responsibilities and liabil-ities of the data owner, data collector, data user, networkprovider, service provider, technology provider and anymanagement partner. Tools such as a responsible, ac-countable, consulted and informed (RACI) matrix couldhelp in refining this process.

◆ Build into the contract clauses such as notification of da-ta movement, breach notification, visibility of provider’scloud value chain and exit clauses that return your databack within a specified time of contract termination in apre-agreed format.

Hoon Chiang: Local IT teams and their organisations mustbe aware of the criticality of the changing role of IT sup-port due to the emerging cloud technology as business us-ers becomes more reliant on technology to carry out theirbusiness needs. The future of business for local teams de-pends on the provision of cloud services to deliver IT agili-ty – to achieve major business benefits at a fraction of thecost. The cloud will eliminate some job functions, but inturn create other new and dynamic job functions in the or-ganization. Users are already using cloud service likeDropbox and Google Drive. One of the perceived threats isusers may put confidential data in the public cloud. Thereis a need for a clear set of policies that constitutes whatcould and could not be put into the public cloud. To ad-dress this, we need to provide some of the services in ourprivate cloud in future. In conclusion, the impact of IT agil-ity does not limit to just the IT department alone but forthe entire organisation. There is a need for the organiza-tion to be ready to adapt to these changes.

Amit: Thank you for your time, gentlemen.

Eng Kheng Koh: The critical thing is to understanddata and capture pertinent meta data ... find outwhere the data is, how it is used and who is using it.

Panellists

◆ Eng Kheng Koh, Area VP Asean, CommVault

◆ Marcus Cheng, Director, Acclivis

◆ Arun Chandrasekaran, Research Director, Gartner

◆ Tan Hoon Chiang, CIO and Divisional Director, Academic Computing & Information Servicesat the National Institute of Education

Moderator

◆ Amit Roy Choudhury, Technology Editor, The Business Times

Marcus Cheng: Cloud computing plays a vital rolein providing a more economical model for allorganisations, especially SMBs, to adopt.

This series is broughtto you

by CommVault

Arun Chandrasekaran: Enterprises are increasinglydrawn by new capabilities, especially Big Data,which is emerging as the true killer app for the cloud

Tan Hoon Chiang: The cloud will eliminate some jobfunctions, but in turn create other new and dynamicjob functions in the organization

The ins and outs of Big Data

30 BizIT FOCUS: BIG DATA & CLOUD The Business Times, Monday, March 25, 2013

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