--- title: For Finance, Is Big Data a Big Headache or a Big Opportunity? description: "Cyber attacks, data theft, data loss and security breaches are just a few of the worries that financial firms have to face when it comes to producing and storing their digital data. \"The result of any of these could end up costing millions, or even billions of dollars,\" writes Marc J. Firenze, CTO at Eagle Investment Systems. However, the promise of aggregating this information and using it to improve company systems can be looked at as an opportunity that outweighs the risk." canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/finance-big-data-big-headache-or-big-opportunity/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # For Finance, Is Big Data a Big Headache or a Big Opportunity? Cyber attacks, data theft, data loss and security breaches are just a few of the worries that financial firms have to face when it comes to producing and storing their digital data. "The result of any of these could end up costing millions, or even billions of dollars," writes Marc J. Firenze, CTO at Eagle Investment Systems. However, the promise of aggregating this information and using it to improve company systems can be looked at as an opportunity that outweighs the risk. [Try Now](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/trial/) [![Image 2: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/ "Acronis Editorial Team") [Acronis Editorial Team](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/) 2 min read Last updated 01 November 2016 Cyber attacks, data theft, data loss and security breaches are just a few of the worries that financial firms have to face when it comes to producing and storing their digital data. "The result of any of these could end up costing millions, or even billions of dollars," writes [Marc J. Firenze](http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/author-bio.asp?author_id=1506 "Marc J. Firenze, Chief Technology Officer, Eagle Investment Systems"), CTO at Eagle Investment Systems. However, the promise of aggregating this information and using it to improve company systems can be looked at as an opportunity that outweighs the risk. Collecting big data for the sake of collecting data won't reap a financial firm many results (if any) says Firenze. "Rather, it's about having high quality data that's useable. Big data – at least _usable_ big data – is not purely a technology or storage issue, but is one that is reliant on quality data and sound data governance," he writes. Information that is harnessed to solve problems and drive operational efficiency can not only save the company money, it can drive revenue as well. Firenze says, "Improvements can be made across many dimensions including managing risk, operating more efficiently, or improving the client experience." However, many financial firms are focused on the promise of "striking gold" by using big data to make better investment decisions rather than improve business operations. Firenze says this is a mistake. "Think first about the business benefits and then apply a creative, thoughtful, and flexible approach to big data," he says. "This approach will give you the best chance of not only 'striking oil,' but, more importantly, being able to realize its many practical uses." _Read more at [InformationWeek](http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/data-management/is-big-data-a-problem-or-an-opportunity--/a/d-id/1297613http://)_ **Must Reads:** **How Technology and Data Can Empower Disaster Survivors** An initiative from the Office of Science and Technology Policy held a demo this week to explore how technology can be used to empower disaster survivors and first responders, such as those who responded in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. 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In this podcast, ComputerWeekly editor Antony Adshead talks with CEO of [Vigitrust](http://www.vigitrust.com/mysitecaddy/site3/index.htm), Mathieu Gorge, about what CSOs need to know about compliance and their organization's data. _Read more at [ComputerWeekly](http://www.computerweekly.com/podcast/Podcast-What-the-CSO-needs-to-know-about-storage-and-compliance)_ _Image via Canstock Photo_ [Cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cybersecurity/) [Cyber protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection/) ## Written by ![Image 3: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png) Acronis Editorial Team Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. [Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/highland-bank-your-money-and-data-applications-services-are-safe-us/) [Highland Bank: “Your money (and data, applications, services) are safe with us!”](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/highland-bank-your-money-and-data-applications-services-are-safe-us/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/it-teams-must-learn-new-skills-manage-mobility/) [IT Teams Must Learn New Skills to Manage Mobility](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/it-teams-must-learn-new-skills-manage-mobility/) About Acronis Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. 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