Are Tomorrow's Knowledge Workers Ready for Big Data? Survey Gauges the State of Business Intelligence Readiness

ATLANTA, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether corporations can transform massive amounts of data into business-relevant competitive advantage rests in the minds of analysts skilled in business intelligence. But will tomorrow's workers be up to the task? Concerned that future business intelligence workers will be ill-prepared to handle the complexities of big data, Teradata University Network in conjunction with the Business Intelligence Congress II today launched a study to assess the state of business intelligence teaching, career interest, and needs.

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Called "The State of Business Intelligence in Academia," the study includes surveys of academics, students and professionals in the field and will culminate in the two-day 2010 Business Intelligence Congress II December 11 and 12 in St. Louis. Invited business intelligence industry leaders, members of the Teradata University Network, and members of the Association for Information Systems, principally those who are part of the Special Interest Group on Decision Support, Knowledge and Data Management Systems, will attend the summit to review the survey results and discuss ways to better align teaching practices and tools with the needs of corporations. Professionals in the field of business intelligence, particularly hiring managers, are encouraged to participate in the online survey available that can be accessed at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/StateofBIforPractice. Surveys must be completed by October 15. All respondents will receive a copy of the full report.  

By 2020, the amount of data generated each year is projected to reach 35 zettabytes, or about 35 million petabytes, reports market research firm IDC.  

"Behind all that data will be a need to mange business operations for revenue growth and expansion through meaningful analysis of the things that matter," Teradata Chief Development Officer Scott Gnau said. "This will create a high demand for employees who have expertise in business intelligence and equally important, an understanding of business processes and operations. They will need to know what information people need and how that information translates into profitability."

The surveys are being conducted by Barbara Wixom, associate professor at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, and Thilini Ariyachandra, assistant professor of Management Information Systems in the College of Business at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Responses from around the world by professors and students at more than 150 universities and from a broad cross-section of business intelligence professionals working in corporations are expected.

"If universities are not teaching students the right technologies and tools, they cannot meet the needs of students or the practitioners that will need to hire them. The surveys will help us uncover any gaps between corporate needs and tomorrow's graduates to ensure we have the right business intelligence workforce," said Wixom. Wixom is a co-chair of BI Congress II, an executive director for the Teradata University Network, and a research fellow of The Data Warehousing Institute.      

About Teradata University Network

Teradata University Network is a free web-based portal for faculty and undergraduate and graduate students in data warehousing, business intelligence/decision support, and database. Led by academics, Teradata University Network currently has over 2,000 registered faculty members from over 1,000 universities in 75 countries, and thousands of student users.

Teradata is a trademark or registered trademark of Teradata Corporation in the United States and other countries.

SOURCE Teradata Corporation