Identifying Barriers to Big Data Analytics: Design-Reality Gap Analysis in Saudi Higher Education

The spread of cloud computing, digital computing, and the popular social media platforms have led to increased growth of data. That growth of data results in what is known as big data (BD), which seen as one of the most strategic resources. The analysis of these BD has allowed generating value from massive raw data that helps in making effective decisions and providing quality of service. With Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia seeks to invest in BD technologies, but many challenges and barriers have led to delays in adopting BD. This research paper aims to search in the state of Big Data Analytics (BDA) in Saudi higher education sector, identify the barriers by reviewing the literature, and then to apply the design-reality gap model to assess these barriers that prevent effective use of big data and highlights priority areas for action to accelerate the application of BD to comply with Vision 2030.