1.
BIG DATA/small workforce
How the BIG DATA revolution is transforming the
dynamics of the workforce. Is your business ready?
Ian Tomlin
Sponsored by :

2.
What is ‘Big Data’ all about?
BIG DATA describes data sets with sizes beyond the
ability of commonly used software tools to manage or
make sense of. It’s the result of a proliferation in digital
media, social networking, sensor networks, auto-ID and
databases used to gather customer likes and behaviors.
People know that knowledge is power. So do
businesses. So do governments.
According to IBM, 90% of the data in the world today was created in the last 2 years alone (wow).

3.
But it doesn’t stop there!
The explosion of data has led to innovations in technology to capture, hoard, assimilate, analyze and
act on lots of data from different places for the purpose of accelerating business innovation
CAPTURE
HOARD
ASSIMILATE
ANALYZE
ACT
For example: Sensor networks and telematics mean that vehicles can travel around road networks and drivers
are automatically charged for their road usage.
And: Today, online customers enter their own orders. At one time sales administrators would do this for them.
Hadoop is a new kind of data hoarding repository; a rapidly scalable filing system capable of
managing vast amounts of structured and unstructured data. Just getting data into a relational
database is time consuming and technically challenging - Hadoop make hoarding data easier!
Operational Analytics take over from where Business Intelligence (BI) left off. BI platforms organize data into structures that make it easier
to source dashboards and reports people need. But they are expensive, difficult to change and normally harvest ‘known’ internal company
structured data. The operational analytics world is more like exploring for oil: There’s no point spending money on infrastructure until you
know you’ve struck oil! These new tools give people the ability to assimilate data and make sense of it – without buying BI platforms.
Generally called middleware, new technology platforms enable people to connect to data painlessly and mash it up. Companies like
Encanvas, Tibco and others make it possible for data to be harvested from practically any data source (including sensors and telematics)
without having to do any of the clever coding stuff. These platforms extract, transform, normalize and generally organize data so you
don’t have to do it manually on a spreadsheet ;-) Assimilation technologies are SO powerful these days, often you don’t need to hoard
data at all – you can just use the data you need, when you need it, and leave it where it is.
Once individuals realize they have an opportunity to improve their customer experience, sales approach, operational or
financial systems this creates a demand for new software applications to turn BIG IDEAS into ways to accelerate business
innovation. Systems like Encanvas remove 90% of the work needed to turn a big idea into better IT systems and processes.
This places more resource focus on innovation and less cost and risk towards ‘putting good ideas into practice’.

4.
Iterative, federated &
democratized innovation
The old view of business innovation was that a small number of CxO roles
made decisions on ‘how to improve’. The pace of innovation and volume of
BIG DATA insights today requires organizations to employ and equip MORE
analysts to assimilate data from lots of places, uncover actionable insights
and make MORE decisions, MORE often across the business.

5.
BIG DATA has transformed
the nature of competition
In its report of the same name, McKinsey&Co
suggest that big data is - “The next frontier for
innovation, competition, and productivity.”
Business leaders today know their competitive advantage
depends on how quickly (and how well) they act on insights.
They need to support an end-to-end process of accelerated
innovation and answer three key questions (see right):
How do we
trial quickly?
How do we
learn
quickly?
How do we
adapt
quickly?
PeteThe Finishing Line

6.
BIG DATA transforms
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
The age-old perspective of organizational change was that companies moved from
ONE FROZEN STATE through a period of change to ANOTHER FROZEN STATE.
The agilization of the enterprise resulting from BIG DATA, and the
accelerated pace of business innovation it fosters, means that the design
of an organization remains in a state of perpetual transformation

7.
Blue Ocean Strategies
How accelerated
business
innovation
manifests
change
Customer Insights
Sales Engagement
Operating Behaviors
According to research conducted by the University of Texas,
Median ROIs from big data analytics are in the region of:
 Customer Analytics 55%
 Operational Analysis 277%
 Financial Analysis 139%
Companies capture and assimilate all of the data they can
glean about their customers to understand them better…
Realizing what customers like and how they prefer to be engaged,
companies find better ways to sell their products and services…
Knowing what customers care about and how best to serve them enables
businesses to adapt their internal processes to work better…
Business leaders enjoy a richer appreciation of markets, opportunities
and threats that encourages entrepreneurial endeavor!

8.
HOW does
BIG DATA
change the

9.
More ‘Data’ Analysts
More data analysts are needed to make sense of actionable insights
and apply the learning lessons. Analysts will be more project-oriented
and will need to be expert in their subject matter like never before to
be able to ‘make-sense’ of data within the context of use.
MarketingResearch Manufacturing OperationsRetail Finance

10.
More Managers
McKinsey estimates a shortfall of 1.5 million managers who have the skills
needed to use insights to drive decisions. This comes as no surprise as decisions
will be democratized down to departmental and functional heads with a
specific focus on how data drives behaviors and requirements in their discipline.

11.
More Legal
Big data has big legal issues. Who owns the data? Who owns the
idea? Who owns the patent? We can expect the involvement of
legal counsel to cascade through the enterprise. Anticipate peaks in
demand when innovation occurs.

12.
More On-Demand
Domain Experts
The financial argument to employ ‘experts when they’re needed’ is compelling. Faced
with rapidly changing market pressures, sustaining a compact base of essential
workforce capability, enriched by on-demand expert talent, helps organizations to stay
competitive whilst having the resourcing profile to new opportunities as they emerge.
“Breaking jobs down into more specialized tasks will not only help companies economize on scarce talent but also make it possible to
perform those tasks more efficiently and effectively..” Source: ‘Preparing for a new era of work’ McKinsey Global Institute

13.
Fewer IT
Programmers
Computer programming is on the slide. With platforms like Encanvas up to
90% of the programming overhead on software development projects is
removed. Applications are created in workshops using drag-and-drop tools.
That means only a tiny amount of programming happens on software
development projects leading to almost no testing, tuning or re-working.

14.
Fewer Admin Roles
Many activities that happen in business are wasteful. Some tasks require workers to check up to
6 different information sources before a decision can be made to ‘approve or disapprove’, to
‘act or do nothing’, to ‘book or not book’. Many of these obstacles are removed by big data
solutions. Sometimes systems will automatically find the answer, other times they will make it
simpler for workers to make a decision by summarizing all facts on the same page. In isolation
these iterative improvements are of minor consequence, but collectively they can boost
productivity by 20% to 40% resulting in big reductions in workforce capacity requirements.
“Nearly all high-skill interaction jobs include tasks that can be hived off to allow the best-paid workers to focus on the most value-
creating activities.” Source: ‘Preparing for a new era of work’ McKinsey Global Institute

15.
Fewer Permanent
Staff
Seeking to minimize employer overheads, reduce risk and boost agility, large employers can
be expected to reduce permanent ‘heads’ and seek more expert talent from indirect sources.
This trend in employer behavior is matched by career preferences of data centric knowledge
experts who benefit from higher demand for their skills and the ability to enjoy a better work-
life balance. In the US where holiday entitlements can be as little as 10-days a year, it’s hardly
surprising people seek a more flexible working arrangement.
“In the USA, 45% of temporary employees work in management, in IT or technical occupations, or in health care, and contract work has
grown four times faster than total employment over the past decade.” Source: ‘Preparing for a new era of work’ McKinsey Global Institute

16.
Thank You.
Article Sponsors:
Workforce and Talent www.workspend.com
IT and Technology www.ustechsolutions.com
Ian Tomlin is a management consultant and
author. He's written several books and
hundreds of white papers and articles on
the subject of customer science,
organizational growth, technology and the
evolution of the workplace.
Books by Ian Tomlin:
Agilization – The regeneration of
competitiveness
Cloud Coffee House – The birth of cloud
social networking and death of the old
world corporation
SOS - Social Operation Systems – What
happens when BIG DATA and SOCIAL
NETWORKING transforms computing

17.
What US Tech Solutions thinks…
If you like to discuss your requirements for the BIG DATA revolution and how we can assist your
business, please call us on +1 201 524 9600 or email me at james.lucier@ustechsolutions.com
BIG DATA means large employers will need to tool-up rapidly on analytical skills and reduce their footprint in professional
areas like computer programming.
According to McKinsey Global Institute by 2018 the US will face a shortfall of close to 200,000 analysts capable of handling big
data requirements.
In line with these predictions we expect to see a sharp decrease in head-count in traditional administrative and clerical areas
while the customer contact areas (such as contact centers, receptions etc.) will need to be tooled up with a richer portfolio
of skills. Intelligence of the enterprise and productivity will grow as head-count declines.
Ever business will face its own unique challenges – but common to all is the challenge of how to minimize employer
overheads through the transition. Bluntly, it makes no sense moving forward to recruit permanent staff in ‘at-risk’ areas that
will be impacted by the BIG DATA phenomenon only to create added transition hurdles. We would encourage employers to
adopt a more balanced approach to their workforce profile, leaning more towards securing mid- to long-term professional
talent through affordable and more agile indirect channels.
At US Tech Solutions we specialize in sourcing highly-capable technical and analytical talent. Our 2000 strong (and growing)
team of superstars serve companies in a wide cross-section of industries and role disciplines. Achieving strong growth in an
oversubscribed global recruitment industry, we example on a daily basis that it pays to source best-fit talent, when, where
and how you need it through trusted indirect partnerships.
James Lucier
James Lucier
V.P. Workforce
USTech Solutions Inc.
Headquartered in New Jersey,
USTech Solutions is a global talent
company helping large employers
to overcome the short-fall in Bug
Data skills and install agility into
workforce strategies.
The company operates dedicated
recruiting teams for Creative, IT,
Telecoms, Pharmaceuticals,
Finance, Energy, Civil and
Aeronautic Engineering sectors.

18.
What Workspend thinks…
To review your options for talent supply-chain management and recruitment outsourcing visit our website at www.workspend.com
In an era of constant change, maintaining a static resource-pool is unsustainable. BIG DATA transforms
businesses and repeatedly places demands on HR and procurement teams to re-model the talent-pool.
Any notion that 100% of workforce talent can be sourced purely by internal recruitment resources, or that
skills requirements can be met by re-skilling internal resources is at best unlikely.
According to the latest industry figures, the United States is moving to a position where 1 in 4 of the
workforce will be sourced through indirect contracts by 2018; in part encouraged by the impact of BIG DATA.
The way talent supply-chain management has worked in the past can no longer sustain into the future. If
employers are to rely more heavily on indirect talent sourcing channels, they need to adopt the same high
standards of supplier governance, performance and cost control that exists with any other mission-critical
procurement category.
At Workspend we supply talent-based operational analytics and vendor management systems that install
appropriate supply-chain governance to the discipline of sourcing indirect talent. We also install
outsourcing and managed services that mean employers don’t need to become expert recruiters
themselves to access the exceptional talent that exists beyond the reach of internal recruitment teams.
Let us help you to reduce costs and move your indirect sourcing governance to a new level.
Manoj
Manoj Agarwal
President
Workspend Inc.
Workspend manages the work and
controls your spend.
The company delivers Managed
Services and Process Outsourcing
services serving the talent sourcing
and management needs of large
employers.