Big Data is it working!?

Last week, over twenty thousand delegates gathered at London Olympia for the tenth Big Data LDN conference with seventeen separate presentation theatres and hundreds of trade stands. Whether you think AI is over-hyped or not, there’s absolutely no doubt about a number of themes:

• Big data and AI are here to stay

• Things are changing fast - there are no certainties

• No-one knows the end-point, but there is value to be achieved already

Big Data LDN 2025

Another thread which appeared in many of the presentations was the recent MIT Media Lab / Project NANDA report suggesting that 95% of generative AI investments have yielded no measurable returns. This sounds disastrous but could be open to multiple interpretations:

• We are in a period of huge (and potentially uncontrolled) experimentation - so fail fast and learn will have benefits

• No-one is claiming a steady-state future has been achieved, so costs and even goal-posts are likely to shift

• Those seeking competitive advantage may not want to publicise their biggest successes

Drawing these threads together - and given the oft-quoted stats for success rates for transformation projects as a whole, we should not be surprised that these waters are challenging to navigate. I believe that for all the new world that we’re entering, the last thing to do is get giddy and forget first principles learned over generations - we need to apply these in this new context. AI isn’t magic—it’s a tool. And like any tool, its value depends on how well it’s aligned with the job to be done. The goal isn’t disruption for disruption’s sake. It’s solving real problems for real customers, better and faster.

At LMGC Analytics, we’re leaning into this mindset: focused experimentation, strategic alignment, and a bias toward scalable value. Because in the end, transformation isn’t about tech—it’s about purpose.

#AIstrategy #DigitalTransformation #BusinessDesign #LMGCAnalytics #ExperimentWithPurpose