IT professionals aged 18 to 34 are much more optimistic than their elders that "big data" analysis will fundamentally change how business is conducted in the next few years, according to an IDG Enterprise survey.

Older IT professionals were more skeptical about the transformative power of big data, the survey found. The reason may be that "older respondents have seen many supposedly transformational technologies come and go throughout their careers. It's possible that they're simply less willing to predict that any particular trend ... will be a source of fundamental change," the IDG study said.

In addition, the 18 to 34 age group was more likely than other age groups to say that big-data projects ought to analyze social network comments for consumer sentiment.

The study is based on a survey of 724 IT decision-makers who reported that their organizations are currently implementing, planning or considering big-data projects. IDG Enterprise is a division of IDG Communications, Computerworld's parent company.

The IDG report also covers:

The top business objectives for data-driven initiatives

The top pain points in data projects

How IT is handling security for big data

Download a free copy of the executive summary: IDG Enterprise 2016 Data & Analytics Survey.