DigitalEye, Jul 2014

DIGITALEYEProspect members in information technology and telecoms

www.prospect.org.uk • Issue 2, July 2014

DIGITALDIGITALEYE

Cash win for BT Global Services staffMORE than a dozen business managers working in BT Global Services each had £200 extra in their June pay packet, thanks to the persistence of Prospect rep Ian Varnes (right).

The issue stems from 2012 when the Voice sales team received their target letters more than half way through the fi nancial year and it was unclear how Critical Focus, a new element to the sales pay plan, was being implemented.

“The way this was done left the team disadvantaged and unable to affect their performance against the target for the fi rst half of the year,” said Varnes, who raised the issue on

behalf of the team.Following lengthy discussions with

management, which now recognises that the communication with the team could have been clearer, 14 people, mainly in the UK, but also colleagues from Europe and North America, are benefi ting from the ex-gratia payment on a without prejudice basis of £200.

BT conference: ‘doing the right thing for members’More than 70 delegates attended Prospect’s annual BT sector conference in Milton Keynes on June 19

THE CONFERENCE featured lively debates on a wide range of motions, including business travel policy, performance management and bonuses.

Among several weighty issues considered in the afternoon’s informal session was a discussion on extending the good work agenda for BT employees. “Our members must relish going to work,” said Ben Marshall,

national secretary.Wrapping up the day, Martin

Aylett, chair of the BT Committee, said: “I know, because I’ve spoken to many of you, that there’s a level of dedication and commitment to doing the right thing for members, which far outweighs anything that the company could bring to bear.

“We work together in order to achieve good things for our members, whether that’s working on personal cases or negotiating nationally. It’s a real strength we have, so let’s not underestimate it.”

■ Full reports: pages 4-6

TELEFÓNICA CHIEF TALKS STRATEGY PROSPECT met with Ronan Dunne (below), CEO of Telefónica UK, in June as part of a continuing conversation around the company’s business strategy.

Dunne reported that the group-level restructure earlier in the year has resulted in the UK business having greater infl uence in decisions which affect Telefónica globally. The company has worked hard to reduce its debt burden over recent years, which means it can now focus on growth.

Digital remains key as it continues to grow successfully in an otherwise declining sector. Dunne sees Telefónica UK as “making the market rather than exploiting the market”, investing in initiatives such as Retail’s Love What You Do programme, developing new digital products and building on the relationship with Vodafone to build a good and cost-effective network.

At the same time the business must deliver a great customer experience to retain its market share. The next 12-18 months will be critical. The UK business will continue to challenge and simplify its operating model, allocating resource to areas of growth, automating legacy systems where possible and removing duplication with the aim of doing “great things once across the company”.

Dunne says key to the UK business’ success is “ensuring every pound invested in Telefónica UK by Group is more benefi cial than investing elsewhere”.

Prospect negotiations offi cer, Caroline Hemmington said: “We thought the discussion was helpful. There have been small restructures and this reiterated the reasoning for them.

“We will continue to represent our members’ interests collectively in any further change in Telefónica UK, so please ensure your colleagues are also members.”

Pay review and bonusFOLLOWING the 2014 pay agreement, Prospect reps met with the Telefónica pay team to review whether pay was implemented in line with agreed parameters. The general view and feedback was positive due to greater transparency over market rates and the matrix.

A reminder to membersTHE 2014 bonus model has been adjusted to refl ect the fi ve performance descriptors in the new global performance management model and the business results weightings used to calculate bonus has been adapted to refl ect the recent changes in the global organisation.

CREDIT: M

ARTIN M

AYER

Prospect • DigitalEye – July 2014

2476_DigitalEye_JULY 2014.indd 1 04/07/2014 12:32

BT leads way on closing equal pay gapBT has agreed to the publication of equal pay gap figures for the first time. While the equal pay gap across the private sector stands at 19.9%, the comparative figure for BT stands at just 4.7%.

This is the result of work done over many years by Prospect and BT on reducing the equal pay gap. At BB1 the gap is 4.6% and just

2.2% at BB2 (first and second line management levels). The figures represent significant progress since the mid-1990s when the gap was much higher.

There is still work to be done. Starting pay remains an issue and we need better progression through pay ranges, which could also be shorter.

If you think you may have an equal pay issue – where you believe you are paid less for doing the same job than someone of the opposite sex – then contact the Prospect Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060.

■ Read Aveen McHugh’s TUC blog post: bit.ly/closing_pay_gap

MAROS MARKOVIC/GETTY

More work needed on the new approach to BT bonuses June saw the implementation of the 2014 pay agreement with Prospect plus a new, more transparent approach to bonuses, writes Aveen McHugh

WE’VE HAD a number of questions coming through from members – in the main these have concerned bonuses. Officially, Prospect doesn’t negotiate bonuses with BT but we have pressed it to be more transparent about how bonuses are determined.

This year has seen the introduction of a new approach where people can see exactly how their bonus has been determined. This uses a simple formula of (salary for bonus) x (on target bonus %) x (business performance) x (a score for individual performance).

The scores for individual performance were in a range related to APR marks:Excellent 1.6-2.0Very good 1.2-1.6Achieves standards 0.8-1.2Development needed 0-0.8Unsatisfactory 0

In some areas of the business – notably TSO and Openreach – we have

been hearing that scores for people marked AS were artificially lowered to the minimum of 0.8 for nearly everyone with that rating.

We have written to both asking for discussions on their approach. Given the payments have now been made we see little hope of getting things changed for this year but we can try to prevent this recurring in the future.

Other queries raised with us have been some very low scores given for those marked DN – despite feedback indicating that they were performing well – and some concerns about how people in the BT Transfer Centre may have been treated. We are investigating those.

Some units – BT Enterprises and BT Ireland – did not meet their threshold for making bonus payments but made discretionary payments instead.

Much needs to be done to ensure that people know what business unit scorecard they are aligned to, what that unit’s scorecard measures are and how the unit is performing against those – that needs to be clearly communicated throughout the year. Bonuses can be rewarding but if they turn out to be less than folk expect then that impact is dented.

■ Page 5, BT bonus: ‘defeat from jaws of victory’

Off sick? You can keep in touchEVEN IF you are currently off sick, it can be useful to keep in touch with a Prospect rep. They can help you plan for a successful return to work and make sure you have proper support with any appropriate short-term or long-term adjustments in place.

■ If you are in this position and want to have a chat with someone contact our Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060.

THE END OF MOBILE PHONE BLACKSPOTS?PLANS to introduce national roaming to tackle the problem of mobile phone blackspots, particularly in rural areas, are being considered by the government. This would mean mobile phone operators sharing their networks to patch up remote blackspots.

The idea is being examined by the new culture secretary, Sajid Javid, who wants people to be able to switch operators when their own is not available, as they would when they are abroad.

A spokesperson at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “The government has made clear it wants to ensure the UK has world-class mobile phone coverage … Of course, we want to look at what more can be done in areas with poor coverage.”

Operators have indicated that the plan would remove their incentive to build more masts and improve their coverage.

■■ McHugh:■“We■have■pressed■BT■to■be■more■transparent”

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e [email protected] t 020 7902 6602

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2


PROSPECT HAS given evidence to an independent taskforce investigating digital skills at the request of Labour leader Ed Miliband.

In its evidence in May the union asked the taskforce to:

● identify the digital skills that everyone needs to get online

● identify the specialist, technical skills required to keep people online safely and securely

● promote the organisational and societal responses necessary to increase the UK’s skills in these areas.

The difficulties that must be overcome are, nevertheless, substantial. We can already see a blurring of basic and specialist skills. While apps and software packages take the sting out of digital complexities for the casual user, people will require increasing amounts of technical knowledge to get the most out of their lives online.

Additionally, Prospect believes that the financing and the delivery of this sort of training is uncertain and leaves too much to chance. We are also concerned that the plethora of organisations and initiatives that already exist in this field only undermine efforts to tackle the problems.

Meanwhile, too few girls and young women see IT as a viable career path. Indeed, the numbers who do so are declining. A male-dominated IT industry not only means losing out in terms of the skills that female IT professionals can provide, but also that online activities will be designed without the needs of women in mind.

Given the increasingly interactive nature (and requirements) of the internet, this is an important gap which must be overcome, and it requires positive action from both the government and industry.

Prospect’s policy prescriptions call for clear definitions of the basic and

KEEP UP WITH MERGER RUMOURS ONE of the sparks for the European Commission’s “Connected Continent” proposals is that it believes the lack of a single market has maintained too high a number of telecom operators in Europe.

Consolidation – by merger and acquisition – is actually

one of the quieter goals behind the initiative.

Consequently, we have started to monitor merger and acquisition rumours in a selection of markets.

The purpose is not to increase the speculation, or to add to the evident pressures

on workers in any companies, but to track activity so that we have a better handle on what is going on.

■ You can find our document – which will be updated at least weekly – on the Prospect at: http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2013/01523

UK needs skills and training to unlock the digital economy

specialist technical skills pathways that a truly digital economy requires of its citizens.

We also call for the government to commit to a major funding programme for the extension of digital skills, perhaps via a voucher scheme, to provide digital skills/getting connected

courses in local colleges.This will help the public realise how

the digital economy is changing their lives and how they can help shape it. Unlocking individual creativity is the key to generating a successful, sustainable digital economy.

Finally, we call on the taskforce to consider how to relaunch national responsibility for strategic training, so that the UK does not continue to be held back by the lack of an ability to take a long-term and practical focus on skills development issues. Chief in this is a restoration of core funding to the sector skills councils.

We currently have more initiatives and structures than we can shake a stick at, but what we urgently need is direction around a set of realistic, strategically-planned policy outcomes and a rationalisation of the structures and initiatives that exist. A lack of focus could potentially lead to the current efforts being squandered.

If the taskforce can get these things on the public agenda, it will have done a good job.

The Digital Skills Taskforce was set up by Ed Miliband to explore the digital skills gap but is non-political and will make its findings widely available. It will produce an interim report in July 2014.

■ Read the Prospect response in full: http://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2014/00686

Prospect has submitted evidence to the UK Digital Skills Taskforce, led by technologist and TV presenter Maggie Philbin. Prospect researcher Calvin Allen lifts the lid on what we said

■■ Too■few■girls■and■young■women■see■IT■as■a■viable■career■path

PURESTO

CK/GETTY


3UK DIGITAL TASKFORCE


Performance management ‘supertanker’ starting to turnPROSPECT’S BT Conference in Milton Keynes in June recognised significant progress on performance management over the past 12 months.

But delegates warned that industrial action remains an option if further sustainable improvements across all areas of the business are not forthcoming.

Moving a motion on behalf of BT TSO Industrial Relations Council – Andy Beck (BT Mid-Yorkshire) said: “The supertanker is finally starting to turn, although bad practice still exists in isolated areas.”

Beck continued: “We need to shift the emphasis from firefighting to an agenda for positive change. BT says it is prepared to move and this is an opportunity not to be missed.”

His motion called for six-monthly review cycles. Speaking in favour, Steve Hedges (BT Mid-Yorkshire) said: “Six months is a good step to reducing the workload on line managers and reducing the tension between line managers and individuals.”

Philip O’Rawe on behalf of the BT Committee highlighted the progress made. He said that, overall, end of year marks have been higher than recent

years and the number of calls on the issue to the union helpdesk was down by over half.

“It’s still early days and we need to see sustained improvements. That’s what we are pushing for but clearly, as a union, we are making a big difference here,” O’Rawe said.

A second motion underlined the importance of continuing to monitor and review improvements. Otherwise, the motion stated, industrial action should remain on the agenda.

Successfully moving the motion, Adam Gheasuddin (BT Central London HQ) said: “I can see the change and I can smell the change. In my line of business at Openreach there has been a real shift. As long as there are improvements, keep negotiating on this for the betterment of our people.”

Speaking for the BT Committee, Mike Cassidy signalled its support for the motion. “There have been significant and welcome changes in some lines of business, but we are still not seeing sustainable improvement in others. Should the requisite changes not occur unilaterally it remains our policy to consider industrial action. This has not and will not change.”

Employee relations staff concernsDELEGATES EXPRESSED their concern at the reduction in the numbers of people working in employee relations, which is increasing the workload on remaining staff.

Moving a motion on behalf of BT TSO IRC Graham Blunden said: “They are absolutely essential to us, as Prospect the union.

“We work together to resolve our difficulties, but it’s difficult to talk to the company if there isn’t anybody there to talk to.”

Replying for the BT Committee before the motion was carried, Carolyn Spence (right) said that it had expressed their concerns with BT. She added: “This is not a criticism of ER people but to the cuts to the numbers and the increased workload on ER.”

Grievance process ‘needs true independence’GREATER EFFORTS need to be made to ensure the grievance process is carried out in a more independent manner.

Moving a successful motion, Alan Smith (BT Adastral Park B, right) said: “An investigation process seems to be: talk to the complainant, talk to the manager, and then agree with the manager.”

The motion was opposed by the BT Committee on the basis that BT would not accept an investigation being taken outside the line of business.

Even so, said Philip O’Rawe for the BT Committee, “you should still be able to seek an independent manager within the LOB”.

Location strategy ‘not fit for purpose’MEMBERS WHO suffer an unreasonable change in their location or homeworking status should challenge this through official channels, and they will be supported by the union.

Furthermore, the BT Committee has pledged to engage with the business to review existing homeworkers’ policy and location strategy because “they are currently not fit for purpose”.

Conference carried a motion on location strategy brought by Andy Beck (BT Mid-Yorkshire). He said that “the

company appears to be working to a set of unagreed and unwritten criteria”.

As well as the BT Committee, the motion received strong backing from delegates. Mark Steele (BT Sheffield) had his application for homeworker status rejected and was told to consider co-locations including Bangalore and Kuala Lumpur.

The motion asked the BT Committee to keep in mind BT’s own environmental policies when shaping the location strategy.

SALES ROLES MUST BE SEPARATETHE blurring of lines between the role of a sales engineer and a sales specialist within the sales job family was heavily criticised. Delegates carried a motion moved by Richard Price (BT Coventry, right) who said: “There is now virtually no difference to the way that these two roles are managed. While engineers are very much part of the sales family, they are a support element and not a core sales role.”

He added: “Using sales engineer roles as a cheap alternative to a core sales role is an abuse of the system. Their targets need to reflect their different roles – and so retain the different sales engineering focus on getting the right solution that works for the customer.”

■■ Beck:■shift■emphasis■to■positive■change

■■ Gheasuddin:■I■can■see■the■change

Conference pictures by Martin Mayer


4 BT CONFERENCE


BT bonus scheme: defeat from jaws of victory’AN EMERGENCY motion calling on the BT bonus scheme to be made fairer and more transparent received strong support from conference.

Bonus letters had recently been sent to staff, which highlighted significant issues with the inconsistent way the new scheme is being implemented across the business, in particular in TSO and Openreach.

Moving the motion on behalf of BT TSO IRC, Graham Blunden (BT Brunel, right) said: “Rather than going along with the spirit of the new transparent way of calculating bonus, exactly the opposite has happened.”

Examples cited include: ● AS-rated staff being scored at the

bottom of the range, often with the minimum score of 0.8

● people in BTTC receiving no bonus at all even where they clearly qualify

● bonus scores being reduced to reflect business performance, despite this already being reflected on the team scorecard.

The motion also asks, if possible, to seek redress for individuals who have been adversely affected by the current bonus scheme issues.

“We do really need to engage with the company to look at the way that bonuses are calculated and going forward we need to ensure that the spirit of the scheme is adhered to,” Blunden said.

Speaking in support of the motion, Clare Mullaly (BT Northern

Ireland) said that the workforce felt “demoralised”.

Michael Merriman (BT Scotland) described the situation as “BT snatching defeat from the jaws of victory”.

He said: “They’d put in place a policy that was supposed to make it fairer for everyone. All of a sudden everyone is finding out that the 10% they were expecting if they’re AS is now 8%, and no reason has been provided.”

Tom Machell, speaking on behalf of the BT Committee, which supported the motion, told conference that Openreach and TSO have already agreed to meet and discuss the issues with the union.

Despite the bonus scheme being discretionary, rather than contractual, there was evidence that there had been some abuse, he revealed.

Machell said: “It is unbelievable that they can announce the bonus scheme with great aplomb and then, within seconds, people go away and do their own thing.

“We need to ensure there is more rigour centrally and have a fairer bonus system, one which is transparent and understandable by our members.”

DON’T TIE OUR HANDS ON PAY – COMMITTEEHAVING a formal pay differential between managers and their team members could be damaging to future pay negotiations, the BT Committee told conference.

As a result, two grouped motions calling for a formal mechanism for pay differentials to be provided and maintained within BT were lost.

Graham Skipp (BT London Central, East & South, right) moved both the motions and said that 42 per cent of managers in the UK are not paid more than the people they manage. Skipp called the situation “scandalous and unethical”.

Keith Stephens (BT London Southern) also spoke in favour of the motions. He said: “One of the ways we can recruit is to promote people into management grades but… Why would they want to get promoted into a job where they get less money and have to work harder?”

However, speaking for the BT Committee, Bal Singh responded that while he shared the sentiments of the motion, there was a bigger picture that needed to be looked at. “We believe that fixing differentials will be unacceptable to the business and seen as a financial straitjacket,” he said.

He maintained that addressing the problem of pay differentials was better achieved through negotiation, and real progress had already been made this way.

National secretary Ben Marshall (right) said: “If you support these two motions, then you will tie us to the outcome of negotiations between BT and the CWU in a very unpredictable way. We understand and support the aims but they tie us to something we can’t control.”

Organisational change in spotlightTWO motions on organisational change initiatives, such as Space To Lead and Meritocracy, were carried by conference.

Moving one was Izzy Lane (BT Adastral Park A, right) on behalf of the BT TSO IRC. It asked for BT to be pressed for an agreed set of principles on organisational changes and for staff to be consulted beforehand.

“In the not too distant past we have had consultations about every reorganisation, no matter how small,” Lane said. “Now, consultation has been replaced by notifications and the first thing we know about reorganisations is when our members complain or come to us with questions.”

A further motion, moved by Tim Handley (BT Stoke-on-Trent), called on the BT Committee to keep members informed about new organisational change initiatives and to make sure that everyone benefits from any training.

■■ Machell:■evidence■of■abuse

■■ Mullaly:■demoralised

Let’s champion MCCHELP FOR individuals who are experiencing major life changes, such as a disability or long-term illness, needs to be managed consistently across all parts of BT, said Chris Amos (BT Leicester, right).

Managing Changing Capabilities was well-established and trusted but there were question marks over the way it had

been applied in a small number of cases, said Amos, attending his first conference. His motion was supported by the BT Committee and carried by delegates.

“We need to be positive about the MCC process and champion its stated use as an effective means of protecting members’ jobs,” said Mike Cassidy for the BT Committee.

“We will call out abuse wherever we see it.”


5BT CONFERENCE


Anger over ‘budget bracket’ changes to business travel policyDELEGATES AT the BT conference expressed dismay at the unilateral changes that have been made to the company’s business travel policy.

Two motions were carried, including an emergency motion to reflect more recent changes to the travel policy, which introduced measures such as:

● a ban on booking travel to internal meetings less than 14 days in advance

● an arbitrary spending cap on meals ● warnings if the cheapest hotel is

not chosen ● the need to provide justification for

not choosing the cheapest hotel ● restrictions on claiming for meals

when travel starts early or ends late.Moving the

emergency motion, Christina Evans (BT Development Belfast, right) said: “BT policy is to take the cheapest option when travelling, at the cost of personal comfort, convenience and even safety in some cases.”

She added that the revised policy

would have a disproportionate effect on staff in Northern Ireland and Scotland because they were more likely to travel long distances and stay overnight.

Anne Killen (right) moved a motion about the policy on choosing a hotel. “Recent changes to BT’s travel policy means that members are now pressurised to stay in hotels that are firmly in the budget bracket,” she said.

The BT Committee supported both the motions and, speaking on its behalf, Steve Dickson (right) said it would have “no problem supporting members who took a decision to book a hotel in a safer area”.

He said the committee would be raising the issue with BT but encouraged members to also make a stand.

Dickson said: “We need to stop that drive to the bottom. Where next? Youth hostels?”

BTTC: not perfect, still valuableONE MOTION on the BT Transfer Centre was lost and another, at the request of the BT Committee, was remitted.

Tim Handley (BT Stoke-on-Trent, right) unsuccessfully moved a motion calling for people on repeated short-term assignments and secondments to be given permanent roles. “The BTTC has enabled BT to avoid compulsory redundancies for many years,” he said. “However, members who have recently been in the BTTC are reporting increasing bureaucracy and pointless record keeping.”

The BT Committee opposed the motion on the basis that short-term assignments and secondments offered opportunities to help redeploy employees, which helped to expand their skills and improve their CVs.

However, Fiona Clarkson, speaking for the committee, also said reps should “highlight any abuses they come across, and where they are

brought to our attention, we can act.”Susan Hamilton-Palmer (BT

Leicester) moved a motion asking for all members who are redeployees to be given help and support to find a suitable new role within the BTTC.

“There are inconsistencies for entry into the BTTC and members such as part-time workers are either being refused entry or forced to give up part-time work,” Hamilton-Palmer said.

The motion was remitted by conference at the request of the BT Committee.

Acknowledging that it could be difficult to place some very part-time workers in new roles, Caroline Sansom (right), speaking on behalf of the committee, said: “We understand it was a very difficult case that’s prompted the branch to trigger this motion. Making policy based on one or two hard cases with unusual circumstances is not always the best approach.”

Prospect is aiming for recognition at IT ServicesRENEWED EFFORTS to win union recognition within newly formed BT IT Services are to be made, following a successful motion.

Guy Mellor (BT Nottingham) said: “People have been on site at Barlborough from 7am in the morning giving out leaflets. There’s been a lot of engagement, a lot of work and a lot of traction.”

HUDD: PROSPECT’S CHALLENGE IN UNCERTAIN TIMESPOLITICS plays a critical part in all the work of Prospect and members are in the midst of an interesting cycle of political change, deputy general secretary Dai Hudd told the conference.

Over the next five years the European agenda would become central. The Scottish independence referendum would also change politics in the UK, whatever the outcome, and a general election is due in 2015.

In Europe the “Connected Continent” agenda aimed to simplify rules for telecoms operators; eliminate roaming charges; secure legal protection to keep the internet open; and introduce new legal rights for consumers and investors.

“But nowhere could I find anything that indicated the interests of workers within those industries would be protected,” Hudd stressed.

Prospect was working with the ETUC, TUC and other unions to tackle these big issues, and had also fed into the Labour Party’s document Digital Britain.

“It is absolutely critical that we put workers’ rights, investment and good work at the heart of these fundamental changes to our economy,” said Hudd.

The political climate had set the tone for employers’ behaviour, said Hudd, including the proliferation of performance management not just in BT but in the public sector.

Hudd said while negotiated solutions were preferable, Prospect also had litigation as part of its armoury. Over the past 13 months it had supported 29 employment tribunal applications across all its employers; 13 of them within BT. Of the latter, so far the union had won one case, lost one and achieved several substantial settlements.

Despite the uncertainty, Prospect was in good shape to face the challenges ahead, Hudd concluded.


6 BT CONFERENCE


THE DIGITAL revolution has enabled data to be captured, stored, transmitted and analysed in a volume so vast, at a speed so fast, and at a cost so low that it would have been unthinkable before the advent of microelectronics. And that volume is increasing, that speed is accelerating, and that cost is falling at an ever-faster rate.

One estimate is that the current universe of digital data is 2.7 zettabytes (a zettabyte is a one followed by 21 noughts).

The popularity of the smartphone and the tablet has made such data increasingly personal and geo-specifi c. And, either by omission (failing to switch off location services) or more likely commission (using social media like Facebook and Twitter), we are co-operating in the generation of vast data sets about ourselves and people like us.

The arrival of wearable technologies – like the smart watch or Google Glass – and the long-anticipated “Internet of things” will exponentially increase the number of connected devices and the volumes of data that they generate.

Putting the data to useThe challenges then become how to curate, search, use and protect that data and our debates around these issues lag way behind technological developments.

To over-simplify somewhat, basically data comes in two forms; disaggregated and personal on the one hand and aggregated and anonymised on the other.

Personal data is used primarily for

commercial purposes: to charge us for things and to persuade us to buy other things in ever-more sophisticated targeted advertising.

But personal data is being used more and more by public authorities, whether it is our health or tax records, or our interactions with local authorities. And, of course, thanks to Edward Snowden, we are all aware that GCHQ and MI5 have a sharp interest in much of this data.

Everyone who values personal privacy needs to think hard about how much data is out there, how it is used and can be abused,

and how privacy settings and things like the “right to be forgotten” need to be deployed.

Big dataIt is at the higher-order level of data that public knowledge is especially lacking – the levels where volume and aggregation are such that conventional database management systems are inadequate and heavy-duty data-crunching is necessary.

This is what has been called “big data” and its value is such that some have called it “the new oil”.

As Massachusetts Institute of Technology

scientist Alex Pentland put it: “The power of big data is that it is information about people’s behaviour instead of information about their beliefs.”

Here too, the commercial and security uses will be self-evident, but it is the public policy implications that are especially fascinating.

Smarter citiesIf the data can tell urban planners where, when and how citizens travel, work and shop, plus when and why they use energy and water, we can plan smarter, more humane cities.

If – in real time – the data can tell public health specialists when people are taking sick leave, or being admitted to hospitals, perhaps we would be better able to manage an epidemic or even predict the development of a pandemic.

However, one of the problems with big data is that it is good at identifying correlations but pretty useless at specifying causations and, as any good statistician knows, correlation does not equal causation. So we will always need clever people to interpret data and wise offi cials to make best use of it.

As James Naughton wrote in a piece for the Observer newspaper: “Big data is the Rorschach blot of our times – an incomprehensible shape on to which we project our dreams and nightmares, hopes and fears. It’s already shaping our lives and looks like determining our networked future.”

■ www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/commswatch

Data, data everywhereRoger Darlington believes that we are on the verge of a transformative use of data

WAVEBREAKM

EDIA/G

ETTYCommercial and security uses will be self-evident, but it is the public policy implications that are especially fascinating


7DATA



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DigitalEye, Jul 2014