Data is the lifeblood of successful companies. Data fuels companies' ability to create new products and services, improve marketing campaigns, better understand and engage with customers, and improve the customer experience. The proliferation of social, mobile and sensor-enabled technologies, in conjunction with the unbundling of data from applications, creates new opportunities and competitive advantages for companies. In theory it sounds great. In practice, however, it causes headaches that have overwhelmed many companies.

Industry veteran Omar Tawakol, former co-founder of BlueKai and current GVP of the Oracle Data Cloud, believes the realization of big data isn’t a myth; it’s a reality he sees in action every day with customers across the globe. Omar is on a quest to create data solutions that empower this data-driven revolution for business. At SXSW, he’ll provide a simple yet insightful understanding of “big data” and how to make it actionable to drive better business decisions.