More than 90% of businesses are unable to properly succeed in the Data Economy
Just 6% of businesses globally use, access, and share data in a way that grants them all the business benefits provided by a robust data strategy, according to new research from Snowflake, the Data Cloud company.
The study of 1,000 business leaders and technology managers highlights the significant hurdles that the majority of organisations face in participating fully in the Data Economy.
The Data Economy, as defined by Snowflake, enables businesses to tackle the most complex business problems and elevate the services they can offer above their competitors. It allows them to build new revenue streams by taking tailored data products and services to their customers, partners, and any other organisation participating in the Data Economy.
According to the research, at the helm of the Data Economy are the ‘Data Economy Leaders’, who are involved in developing strategies that democratise access to data, integrate new technology, and demonstrate the true business benefits of capitalising in the Data Economy. While many companies have ambitions to take advantage of data to give them the business edge needed to be successful, these organisations require guidance to lay the right foundations. In fact, according to the study, only 38% of businesses are in a position to extract value from their data and use it to inform the decisions they make.
As part of the study, Snowflake identified the four key attributes an organisation needs to possess to become a Data Economy Leader. These include: • Unimpeded access to data, no matter where it resides; • Using data to inform all or most business decisions; • Using data to advance strategic goals, such as growing revenue and identifying new business opportunities; • The ability to share data securely with external partners.
The organisations that possess these four attributes are considered Data Economy Leaders, and as a result achieve significantly more than those that don’t use, access or share data in these ways. For example, 77% of Data Economy Leaders experienced annual revenue growth over the past three years, while just 36% of ‘Laggards’ – the lowest-performing businesses surveyed – can say the same. Moreover, 60% of Leaders saw their market share grow over this period, compared to only 31% of Laggards.
The businesses that aren’t using their data to its full potential are being left behind by the competition, which actively use data to strategically support the company and make critical business decisions. For example, 42% of organisations surveyed reported that they use data to identify risk and prevent fraud within their business – the most common use for how data is used – demonstrating a growing trend for businesses to use data in a preventative way, to protect themselves and their customers. In addition, 41% of organisations use data strategically to launch new revenue streams or pricing models and 40% do to reveal new market opportunities.
Jennifer Belisssent, principal data strategist at Snowflake, said: “Successful organisations will attain the business advantage that comes from access to data, data services, solutions, and collaboration – which can only be found in the Data Economy.
“Forward-thinking organisations are using all that the Data Economy offers to solve the most complex business problems, improve customer experiences and crackdown on fraud. The Laggards that don’t yet have control over all of the data they possess will find themselves falling behind of the competition, and potentially at increased risk of security threats”.
To join the Data Economy, businesses need to first get to grips with their data.
