Data-driven decision-making: Easier said than done
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While too much siloed data is slowing analysis, cloud, data sharing and artificial intelligence can increase its value and drive digital transformation, a recent survey shows.
An inability to get data into an environment where value can be extracted is negatively impacting digital transformation, a new report states.
“Significant barriers include data taking too long to get to the cloud, analysts taking too long to analyze it, disruption moving data to the cloud, and data being too distributed,” according to a recent WANdisco report.
Eighty percent of respondents said that data at their organization goes unused. And 75% said at least half their data is stuck in silos, and that inaccessibility causes moderate to significant frustration for 45% of respondents, according to the report. The main reasons respondents cited for trapped data are the length of time required to move it (46%), risk of disruption (44%) and cost (44%).
Better data management can reduce silos, but that requires specific skill sets – ones that respondents say are lacking at their organizations. For instance, 42% said they’re unsure how to move and unlock data.
Another issue is that data is growing at exponential speeds. In 2020, the amount of data created reached a new high, and it is forecast to grow to more than 180 zettabytes by 2025, according to Statista. Respondents said such growth is too fast for them to keep up with. Specifically, 78% said it’s growing faster than their ability derive value from it.
Further complicating the matter is infrastructure to support data growth and analysis, according to the report, but moving data to the cloud is not enough to ensure that it is accessible and usable. For instance, 40% of respondents pointed to ineffective artificial intelligence and machine learning models and 41% to a lack of data sharing as impediments.
“Having access to data in the cloud is a powerful resource for creating value, but only if paired with seamless data management technology to activate the data,” the report states.
All of this considered, it seems as if data-driven decision-making is easier said than done, but the report notes that 45% of respondents said that data is still the primary driver for most or all business decisions, and for those it isn’t, 84% said it will be within five years.
In fact, 96% of respondents said they have been able to use data to generate new revenue streams.
“Just bits and pieces of enterprise data are turning into tangible results,” David Richards, co-founder and chief executive officer of WANdisco, said in a press release. “So can you imagine what would happen if every last data point was put to use? The data-driven value generated to date is going to feel like a grain of sand compared to the beach we’ll be sitting on in 10 years.”
Stephanie Kanowitz is a freelance writer based in northern Virginia.