Many companies say they use data for their daily operations. However, only a fraction of them are actually ‘data-driven’. This is the finding of the SD Times and Melissa Data in their study of data use and quality within companies.
The ‘Data Quality 2023 Study shows that 34 percent of companies are in what is known as a “data aware” phase. This means they have only just begun the process of recognizing the value of data, having not yet integrated it into their daily operations.
However, the most important phase, the “data driven” phase, has much less traction. Only 16 percent of respondents to the survey say they are truly data driven and have fully integrated it into all processes.
Challenges
The survey further reveals that companies face many challenges when it comes to integrating and especially managing data in their daily processes.
The main challenge here is said to be the different international “character sets”. To ensure good data quality, companies must deal with certain complicated issues, such as the complexity and diversity of languages and scripts.
Examples of this include complicated standards for programmers, such as UTF-8 or ASCII needed for different programming languages.
Errors in these can lead to major problems, such as data loss and complications for processing and storing data. In addition, the integration and consolidation of data from different sources can lead to inconsistencies and data corruption.
Other challenges cited by survey respondents for good data quality include an incomplete set of data and a high number of duplications.
All-in strategy indispensable
To truly make the use of data successful within companies, the researchers indicate that they must adopt an “all-in strategy”. In doing so, they need to be able to guarantee high data quality and, consequently, good data integration.
This means that companies should ensure that their data is accurate, up-to-date, available and fully integrated. This should then provide a complete view that all stakeholders can work with.
Also read: The rise of the chief data leader