Of all the resources CIOs can leverage to gain insight on the success of their company’s business strategies, the use of Big Data is lagging, according to a recent study commissioned by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
While more than two thirds (68%) of retail CIOs said they collect data, they agreed that they were not maximizing its full value. Additionally, only 47% of survey respondents said they have invested in cross-channel analytics to effectively engage consumers across channels. Only 25% of retailers have plans to invest in Big Data analytics in the future.
For the report, titled: The 2014 Global Agenda Of Retail CIOs, TCS surveyed 192 senior business and IT executives at global retailers to understand the top priorities for CIOs in 2014, including trends to watch and critical investments.
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In addition to harnessing Big Data to improve engagement and sales, many retail CIOs also plan to implement some form of mobile strategy, including: Context-aware technology (32%), mobile payments (28%), digital signage (24%) and mobile POS (22%).
New technology investments cannot be implemented successfully without the right talent. However, onboarding quality candidates is one of the biggest challenges for CIOs, with 67% of respondents indicating that attracting and retaining talent would be a major challenge over the next three to five years.
Finding the right employees to address mobile investments has been the most challenging, with 34% of executives noting that they are struggling to fill positions. As a result, 40% of CIOs are prepared to use external partners with emerging mobile expertise to support internal teams as they build mobile strategies and applications.
“Retail CIOs are uniquely positioned with an enterprise-wide perspective to overcome operational silos and become true change-agents, critical to future cross-channel customer engagements and business growth,” said Pratik Pal, President of Retail, CPG, Travel, Transportation and Hospitality for TCS. “They are primed to expand their leadership role in the dynamic new world of retail by spearheading the digital and innovation agenda.”
Click here to access a complete version of the TCS report.
