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Big data and DevOps: No longer separate silos, and that’s a good thing – TechRepublic

The looming threat of the pandemic has placed enormous pressures on healthcare institutions globally, as well as IT organizations discovering their analytics reporting is becoming mission-critical.

The waterfall development paradigm is still favoured by most IT departments, with separate silos dedicated to development, testing, and deployment. TechRepublic.com pointed to what it takes to move away from this ageing foundation.

From waterfall to DevOps

This culture shift internally requires the “creation of interdisciplinary functional teams instead of work handoffs from functional silo to functional silo.” End users also become active participants on these interdisciplinary teams.

Stop seeking perfection

Testing big data applications is becoming less about perfection and more about progress. It’s not easy for IT to adjust because they’re used to moving a data field from one place to another with absolute certainty that the data and the test scripts line up perfectly. But remember, big data projects could start off with results being only 80 per cent accurate, with the business deeming them close enough to indicate an actionable trend.

Labelling big data as mission-critical

The article cites a strong example of why analytics matters. If you’re a transportation company, the ability to track shipments and the health and safety of those shipments and the staff transporting them, suddenly the discussion sounds a lot more mission-critical. Think about what your data means to your business, and don’t hesitate to elevate big data and analytics to mission-critical status.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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