????生命中必然發生之事又多了一樣。除去死亡和交稅，這份清單上現在又增加了信息過載。每天產生的數據量呈爆炸式增長，壓得人類和大小企業喘不過氣來。不過這給私募股權公司等各類投資者創造了機會：將過載的信息轉化為智能數據，幫助企業高層做出決策。

????它對于私募股權投資者而言意味著兩件事：其一，為了幫助廣大企業在這場信息革命中抓住機遇，一些初創公司正在開發應用程序，建設基礎設施，提供相關服務，私募股權投資人應該投資給它們中的翹楚。其二，確保我們的投資組合公司有效利用以上提及的能力，實現自身的商業成功。

????大數據時代的巨大機遇已經開啟：據國際數據公司（IDC）預計，大數據的價值將會從2010年的32億美元增至2015年的169億美元。高德納公司（Gartner）的全球研究總管彼得·桑德加特稱，到2015年，全球將有440萬個崗位服務于大數據工作，其中190萬個在美國。他還預測這會導致倍數效應——大數據領域每產生一個IT崗位，將由此增加三個非IT工作崗位。

????這個全新的時代到底有多新？有人說我們仍然處在大數據革命的初級階段，目前只是通過早期的風險投資公司收購年輕的創業公司參與其中。實際情況并非如此。我們所目睹的是企業智能的革命，企業持續改善著數據戰略。由于能夠更有效地對顧客數據、市場數據和產品數據加以利用，優勝者正在從各個行業脫穎而出。

????今天的大數據并不等同于“智能數據”。直到不久前，商業智能指的一直都是讓IT部門能夠存儲及管理信息，以備企業高管人員定期查閱。這種智能處在決策過程的邊緣。即便如此，大多數企業依然廣泛地采用這些工具，這些公司的投資者也因此從中獲利頗豐。IBM收購了康格諾（Cognos），甲骨文（Oracle）收購了Hyperion，一批又一批初創企業因為推出創新技術而成為業界領袖，取代前輩公司站上歷史的潮頭。

????大數據投資的第二步在于采取行動。這一次，“智能”已不僅僅意味著數據報告。它將存在于機構的核心、而不是邊緣，從單純地提供歷史參考轉變為提供預測信息，讓管理人員能夠做出更加明智的決定。為了匹配這些新的能力，企業開始建設新一層面的基礎設施、應用和服務。沒有一個行業能夠置身這股潮流之外。投資者想要參與大數據革命可以有多種選擇。由于那些提供基礎設施的創業公司和早期風險投資公司中將產生新的明星企業，因此我們認為，巨大的成功將出現在那些幫助企業用戶實現大數據能力、提供智能應用和服務，或者在垂直行業內找到全新商業模式的公司中間。

????The list of life's certainties has gotten longer. Along with death and taxes we can now include information overload. The amount of data generated on a daily basis has exploded, overwhelming people and organizations alike. This creates an opportunity for many types of investors, including private equity firms, to turn information overload into smart data that can drive decision-making at the highest levels of enterprise.

????For private equity investors this means two things: Investing in the emerging leaders who are building the apps, infrastructure and services that businesses need in order to capitalize on the data revolution, and ensuring that our portfolio companies are effectively using these capabilities to drive the success of their businesses.

????Welcome to the Big Data opportunity:? Research firm IDC expects Big Data to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $16.9 billion in 2015. Peter Sondergaard, Gartner's global head of research, says that by 2015 we'll see 4.4 million jobs devoted to the global support of Big Data, with 1.9 million based in the U.S. He also predicts a jobs multiplier effect – each IT job created by Big Data will generate three more positions outside of IT.

????How new is this era, exactly? Some say that we are still in the nascent stages of the Big Data revolution, and the way to participate is via early-stage venture capital firms taking stakes in young startups. This is actually not the case. What we are witnessing is the?evolution?of enterprise intelligence, with companies continuing to refine their data strategies and sector winners beating their competitors by using their customer, market and product data more effectively.

????Until now, Big Data was not synonymous with "smart data." Business intelligence until recently has meant enabling IT departments to warehouse and organize information that might be reviewed periodically by senior managers.? The intelligence was on the periphery of the decision-making process. Still, most enterprises adopted these tools very broadly and investors in these companies profited. IBM acquired Cognos.? Oracle acquired Hyperion.? And innovation moved on to the next set of emerging leaders.

????The second act of Big Data is about action. This time intelligence will go beyond reporting. It will live at the heart of the organization, not at the edges. It will involve moving from historical insight to predictive information, enabling managers to make smarter decisions. To match these new capabilities, enterprises are building a new layer of infrastructure, applications and services.? No industry will remain untouched.? Investors have many options for participating in Big Data. While winners will be found among the startups and early stage venture capital firms providing the infrastructure layer, we believe that big successes will come from enabling the business users, providing intelligence applications and services or designing entirely new business models within verticals.