IBM’s Information On Demand conference revealed some compelling insights about big data that undoubtedly deserve a second look. SiliconAngle’s own John Furrier and Wikibon’s Dave Vellante had a chat with Dataskill CEO and President Nigel Hook about some of the innovations his company is in the process of unfurling in collaboration with IBM.

Companies are struggling to find ways to bring different data sources together. They are finding themselves holding heaps of structured and unstructured data and are now trying to figure out exactly how they can monetize it and gain some value from it. Vellante asked Mr. Hook how he thought businesses could get that value out of their big data.

Nigel Hook replied with an example from the healthcare industry. Many hospitals, he said, are being fed boat loads of data each day through EMR readouts and other sources, but many times, that data is not as valuable as the doctors’ notes. If a hospital had a tool that could intercept a doctor’s notes, transcribe them, and then extract some knowledge out of that text, the hospitals would have that much more valuable information at their fingertips.

Many hospitals have also not adopted the digitization of record-keeping that the government now provides incentives for them to have. Dataskill and IBM are now in a position to help them synthesize this vast amount of data and then analyze it to help doctors give better advice and insights to patients. By reducing administrative costs and readmissions due to missed opportunities for more refined care, hospitals can reduce their budget expenses by as much as 30 to 40 percent.

Toward the end of the interview, Furrier and Vellante asked Hook to reveal some of the innovations Dataskill is working on with IBM. Hook talked briefly about some of the technology the company has appropriated from the Watson project. Using what Hook referred to as “Ready for Watson”, they have developed technology that will help extract knowledge out of doctors’ information and make meaning out of it. Ultimately, this will pave the way for Watson and many other remarkable innovations down the road.

To hear Dataskill CEO Nigel Hook discuss how small businesses can benefit from big data and many other insights, watch the full interview from The Cube right here.