The other day someone asked me if I “did” Big Data.  Although I wasn’t quite sure what “doing” Big Data meant, I was certain that I did not. I don’t work with Big Data. I don’t have access to Big Data and, even if I did, I wouldn’t have a clue as to what to do with it.

I told her that I was more of a “little” data guy.  I could see the pity in her eyes. She asked if I was worried about becoming obsolete.  After all, one of my major services is built on using data more effectively. How could I continue to exist in this brave new world of Big Data?  I thanked her for her concern and assured her that I’d be ok, at least in the foreseeable future.

I don’t have anything against Big Data.  In fact, I’m amazed when I read articles that describe the ways that Big Data is changing politics, business, medicine, and many other fields. However, as with many innovations, there is a certain amount of hype around Big Data — everyone suddenly wants to “do it”. Presentations that used to talk about data now talk about “Big Data” despite no change in their content. I was even at one presentation where the speaker confidently and defiantly pronounced the death of Microsoft Excel to the cheers of his peers.

It turns out that there are still a lot of problems for which conventional data works just fine.  You don’t need Big Data to manage your operating budget or to find out if you are meeting your sales goals (although it might help you understand why). It also isn’t necessary to track your tax liabilities, commission payments, or general ledger.  There are a lot of basic operational tasks for which conventional data is sufficient.

The key to remember is that the value of any data, “big” or conventional, is in the insight it provides. The first and last mile of any data analysis is still a human who can frame an appropriate problem or question, establish criteria for making a decision, and then interpret the output of an analysis.  The computer may be smarter at finding connections that we couldn’t see.  But, we’re still smarter at figuring out if those connections matter or are aligned with our business strategy.

Don’t throw away your spreadsheet just yet.  There are still a lot of insights, decisions, and actions that can be driven from conventional data and conventional analysis.  And, for the rest, find someone who is good at “doing” Big Data.