IDC says Big Data market outstripping IT as a whole by sevenfold.
IT systems management firm Kaseya said firms must be mindful of the complexities of handling Big Data projects, and also bear in mind the "worrying skills shortage" in the space.
In IDC's recent report, the analyst firm said the global Big Data technology and services market is about seven times the rate of the overall information and communication technology (ICT) market.
The global big data technology and services market is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.7% to $23.8bn by 2016, according to the report.
The research firm revealed that the big data market is growing rapidly and incorporating technology and services from a range of existing and new market segments.
Commenting on the findings, Koby Amedume, director of EMEA marketing at Kaseya, said, "As this IDC study shows, Big Data is, and will continue to be, increasingly prevalent in all market areas and, as a key trend for 2013, it is important that IT professionals place the utmost importance on their strategy to deal with it.
"Handling the data is no easy feat and can represent a huge undertaking for IT departments if its full potential is going to be realised. Though commonly thought to only effect large organisations, the reality is that most businesses, whether large or small, will have Big Data on their hands," Amedume said. "This, combined with the worrying skills shortage within the Big Data arena pointed out by IDC, means companies need to get to grips with the data and begin automating their processes to ensure it is dealt with as productively and efficiently as possible."
The IDC report also revealed that lack of Big Data technology skills will push the number of buyers towards cloud solutions and appliances.
"Adopting a single pane of glass approach, that allows IT teams to manage the data from one centrally managed platform, as well as automate the more routine tasks, will help IT teams cope with all of the considerations associated with Big Data, resulting in a more straightforward, and secure, process. At a time when IT departments are increasingly stretched, not only will this approach allow them to work smarter, not harder but it will also ensure organisations see the benefits of the data far more quickly."
IDC Business Analytics and Big Data research vice president Dan Vesset said of the Big Data report: "It is an important topic on many executive agendas and presents some of the most attractive job opportunities for people with the right technology, analytics, communication, and industry domain expertise."
