Most organizations need to address a range of core data needs and technology infrastructure issues before launching big data initiatives, research released today by CompTIA, the non-profit association for the information technology (IT) industry, suggests. CompTIA’s Big Data Insights and Opportunities study finds low levels of familiarity – only 37 percent of IT and business executives report being very familiar or mostly familiar with the concept of big data. Approximately one in five businesses claim to have a big data initiative underway, while 36 percent plan to embark on one in the next 12 months, “As expected for an emerging technology with an evolving definition, many executives are still moving along the big data learning curve,” said Tim Herbert, vice president, research, CompTIA.