I talk to partners every day about the big data opportunity. We know that partners who sell UCS see dramatically larger deal sizes for big data opportunities.  We know all of this and still there is a lot of caution and skepticism from partners about jumping into this new world of big data and analytics.  I have heard comments from many partners, like:

• "It's just hype, another fad"
• "I will ride this out and wait for the wave to pass and go on with business just like I always have"
• "I am driving revenue and growing my business, why do I need to worry about this Big Data thing. I am not going to hire a "data scientist"!  I'm not even sure what I would do with one if I hired one!"

There is indeed is a lot of hype about big data and analytics today -it is everywhere. However, it is not a fad, and it is not going away. The world is moving to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Everything (IoE), and big data is projected to be the next evolution of IT.

As IoT and IoE gain momentum, enterprises are deploying new data-creating sensor at the far reaches of their networks and billions of new connections are being made.  Cisco anticipates that 50 billion things will be connected by 2020.  Those connections are creating enormous amounts of data.  The ultimate success of IoT and IoE is all about being able to turn that data into insight.  Insights that drive organizational improvements such as delivering products faster, fueling higher productivity or predicting customer demand.  Big data and analytics is all about driving business outcomes from IoT and IoE.

Customers are recognizing this shift and understand that a big data strategy is imperative for them to stay competitive in their market. The market shift to Big Data & Analysts is underway.

It is important for our partners to engage now.  That is why these blogs are dedicated to de-mythicizing how you can drive net new revenue with big data and analytics by providing practical steps to building your Cisco practice.  I am helping our partners gain a new perspective, remove some of the apprehension, and simplify how you can get in the Big Data and Analytics game to capture your fair share of this valuable market opportunity.

First step, I encourage you to take is to check out the 'Executive Guide to Building a Big Data and Analytics Practice' that we've built to give you the information you need to make an intelligent business decision about making  the investment. Read the playbook and watch the VoD.  Take advantage of all the resources and training available to our partners on Cisco.com/go/bigdata.  Get started today.

And watch this space.  I will be posting subsequent blogs on key topics that help partners move the ball forward in building out their Big Data practice, including mapping out the practice building journey and the featuring the many types of practices and options for building your new skills and competencies.

Be sure to give me your feedback in the comments section.