With every online click generating new data, it is no wonder global data creation will grow to more than 394 zettabytes. Organizations today have the privilege of tapping into this wealth of data to drive key decisions, and as evident in the CIO Tech Poll by Foundry, the most researched or piloted technologies rely on data to realize their full business potential.
While data is seen as a treasure trove that helps uncover new business insights, achieve higher productivity levels, and make better-informed decisions, it cannot serve a purpose if not paired with robust data management strategies. And as generative AI (GenAI) becomes an essential tool for every organization, it is also changing how data is used.
By now, everyone is aware of GenAI’s capabilities in processing vast datasets, uncovering patterns, and generating actionable insights; but its effectiveness depends on the quality, accessibility, and governance of the data it relies on.
This is why taking a strategic approach is crucial to avoid bias, misinformation, and unreliable outputs that could lead to poor decision-making. Organizations should aim to have clean, well-structured, and ethically sourced data to drive productivity and innovation and find their competitive advantage as they make better-informed decisions.
Overcoming challenges in leveraging data analytics for new technologies
Despite the knowledge that data is king, many organizations do not possess the right data foundations to fully optimize the data they have. Research by Salesforce found that even though 97% of enterprise leaders in Asia Pacific (APAC) intend to implement AI agents in the next two years, complex infrastructures can become a roadblock. One of the largest barriers is data silos, with 93% of APAC IT leaders citing it as the main challenge in their organization.
Due to strict data governance policies, privacy, and security concerns, it can be challenging to get the entire organization on board in making data more accessible while ensuring regulatory compliance. Additionally, many organizations struggle to manage and process ever-growing datasets effectively, which impacts scalability in the long run. Without high-quality, consistent data, even the most advanced AI tools may generate unreliable insights.
Selecting a data platform that meets business needs
To unlock the power of data, organizations need to break the barriers that hinder them. Having the right data platform will eliminate the complexities of data management, allowing them to focus on solving core challenges and driving innovation. Data platforms should provide businesses with the capability to integrate and unify access to data for comprehensive analytics. More importantly, it should have built-in governance to address security and regulatory concerns. This gives stakeholders the confidence to experiment and tap into the platform’s capabilities, resulting in improved customer experience and business bottom line.
Ultimately, a good data platform should remove data silos to streamline data and AI workflows across the organization. When information can flow efficiently between teams, collaboration and decision-making processes become simpler and more effective. This allows the organization to stay informed with the latest data, and in turn, deliver impactful, data-driven innovation.
From leadership trust to everyday practices
Even with the best tools in place, organizations need the buy-in from employees to truly succeed. Encouraging teams to trust and rely on data in their daily workflows is just as important as having the right technology in place. However, building a data-driven culture continues to be a key challenge globally. Data-driven organizations treat data as a strategic asset, using data to guide their everyday decisions. They also build capabilities to support the use of data, instead of the other way round.
Securing buy-in from the upper management is crucial, especially in legacy enterprises where deeply ingrained habits and resistance to new technology can pose challenges. Organizations should also invest in data literacy programs for CXOs to ensure that everyone is aligned and equipped with the necessary know-how to use the tools available to harness and use data. Only when the upper management believes in this data-driven mindset, can the culture of an organization change.
On a practical level, implementing gradual changes to workflows and processes that center around data exposes employees to the availability of data and analytics in their everyday tasks. Through accessible and intuitive platforms that work alongside GenAI tools, using data for decision-making will soon become second nature.
