The Talend 2021 Data Health survey noted that business leaders know how important data is — 76% of APAC respondents report that they use data every day. 96% of these leaders say they face challenges in using their data, and 35% say they simply aren’t using it to make the majority of their decisions.
Data-saturated vs data-driven
Companies have more access to data than ever before, but there’s very little way to make sense of it. 45% of APAC respondents in highly rate their ability to deliver the basics: timely, accessible, complete, and accurate data.
Data management companies have been offering to solve these problems for years — but they’re focused on the mechanics of data like moving it and storing it.
“Our relationship with data is unhealthy. Only 40% of executives always trust the data they work with (45% of APAC respondents), and more than a third of executives are still making decisions based on gut instincts (35% of APAC respondents),” said Christal Bemont, CEO, Talend.
She warned that data is falling well short of the industry’s vision. Data management, which largely focuses on moving and storing data, doesn’t take into account the overall health of data.
“Therefore, in trying to manage data, all companies are creating digital landfills of corporate information. This has to change.”
Cristal Bermont
Data health survey (APAC respondents)
- 13% of executives do not think that their company’s investments in data management is worth it.
- 40% of respondents report that there are no standards for data quality at their company.
- In an ideal world, 75% of executives would like to make the majority of their decisions based on data.
- Decreasing cost of operations is only a corporate objective for 40% of executives, far behind monitoring performance for 71% of executives, improving customer service for 75% of executives, and increasing revenue for 53% of executives.
- To make data the critical asset in the entire organization, the challenges that executives face are both technical and human: 47% to make data available to the right person; 52% to have enough skilled resources; 49% to meet compliance and security requirements.
- 97% of executives agree there should be cross-industry standard metrics to assess the quality of all enterprise data.
Among the executives surveyed, the sales and marketing teams are the least data-driven departments 48% of sales and marketing executives make the majority of their decisions without data.
The finance department follows closely with 44% of finance executives reporting that they make the majority of their decisions without relying on data.
