Organizations are thinking more strategically about big data analysis for IT (ITOA), with 65 percent already combining data sources or planning to do so within the next year, according to a survey of nearly 100 CTOs and other IT decision makers at Fortune-1000 organizations by TechValidate for ExtraHop.

According to Gartner: "Demand for ITOA is intensifying among large and small to midsize enterprises. As a result, spend on ITOA, which approached $1.7 billion in 2014, is expected to grow by approximately 70% through 2015." ( Gartner, Organizations Must Sequentially Implement the Four Phases of ITOA to Maximize Investment; February 18, 2015)

The popularity of ITOA is on the rise based on the variety of use cases reported by respondents including:

■ application performance monitoring (90 percent)

■ root-cause analysis (86 percent)

■ network performance monitoring (85 percent)

■ IT security (67 percent)

In terms of big data types, wire data and machine data ranked as the most valuable sources for IT visibility. Additionally, organizations that combined multiple data sources for ITOA glean greater insights from the data, resulting in quicker, more accurate data analysis. IT professionals who are combining wire data with other sources integrated the following data types: machine data (54 percent), agent data (31 percent), and probe data (26 percent).

When it comes to wire data specifically, the research shows a majority (60 percent) of IT professionals understand the value and benefits of this data source for obtaining deeper ITOA insights. Ninety-three percent of IT decision makers rely on wire data sources for IT management and monitoring, more so than other traditional big data sources like machine, agent and probe data.

Key findings around wire data's strengths as a data source for IT professionals include:

■ 73 percent believe wire data provides a more comprehensive view of everything within the IT network environment

■ 67 percent cite the ease of access to the insights wire data provides without any extra installs on servers

■ 71 percent of IT professionals look to wire data as an untapped resource used to obtain new insights other forms of data cannot provide

■ 75 percent believe it is the most objective form of network-based data

"As awareness of Big Data matures, we are seeing faster and more widespread adoption of ITOA technology, and the importance of wire data as a source of insight has become a key topic in conversations with our customers," said Jesse Rothstein, CEO, ExtraHop. "Businesses rely on IT as the lifeblood of their organizations, so the stakes are high for keeping that machine running as efficiently as possible. That's where ITOA has really proven itself as a high-value, must-have initiative."

Erik Giesa is SVP of Marketing and Business Development for ExtraHop.