IT leaders struggle to drive business priorities with data, shows study

Indian IT leaders are concerned that the increasing number of security threats and lack of trust are impeding their organisations' data potential, according to a new study by cloud company Salesforce. The study reveals that nearly half (45%) of Indian business leaders lack confidence in the accuracy of their data. The primary obstacle for Indian business leaders is security threats, which are growing alongside the development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and resources. 

Salesforce's State of Data and Analytics report, which includes insights from over 10,000 analytics, IT, and business leaders across 18 countries (including 300 from India), highlights key trends in the industry. As companies increasingly utilise generative AI to enhance productivity and increase revenue, 76% of Indian business leaders express concerns about missing out on its benefits. This places pressure on data management teams to supply algorithms with high-quality data. 

In this regard, many business leaders have less confidence in data quality compared to analytics and IT leaders. The study shows that teams closely involved with data, such as data and analytics teams, have the most faith in the accuracy of their data. However, even these teams have room for improvement, with only 57% expressing complete confidence in their data. Line-of-business departments, including marketing, sales, and service, are even more skeptical, with an average of 43% fully trusting their data. 

While the lack of trust highlights companies' struggle to utilise data to support AI-powered solutions, the primary challenge identified among those surveyed is data security threats. A recent Salesforce survey found that 65% of IT leaders experienced a security breach between June 2021 and June 2022. Among those affected by a breach, 35% were unable to recover any impacted data. Generative AI introduces the additional risk of proprietary company data leaking into publicly available large language models. 

The increasing concerns surrounding cybersecurity are compounded by another significant factor: organisational data is expanding in terms of both volume and complexity, thereby expanding the threat surface. Over two-thirds (68%) of analytics and IT teams anticipate an increase in data volumes over the next 12 months. 

Managing the influx of data from various sources is not just a security consideration but also a technical challenge in terms of standardisation, the research says. After security threats, analytics and IT leaders cite the lack of data harmonisation as the biggest barrier to extracting value from their data sources. Business leaders are concerned about the downstream effects of disparate, siloed data, citing overwhelming data volumes and the lack of a single source of truth as major obstacles to leveraging their own data. They also identify a lack of training and efficient methods for extracting insights as the third and fourth biggest data challenges in their organisations, respectively. 

Arun Kumar Parameswaran, MD - Sales, Salesforce India, stated, "Generative AI is intensifying the need for real-time personalisation, increased business efficiencies, and analytics. IT leaders are racing to strengthen their data foundations, including data quality, stronger security, and AI-readiness, in order to fully harness the power of AI. Given the increase in data volumes and complexity, data harmonisation will be a top priority for business leaders to extract value from their data sources and effectively leverage AI." 

To capitalise on the potential of AI, leaders must first organise their data and leverage data culture and data governance to reach goals. Successful AI implementation, both generative and otherwise, relies on secure and reliable data inputs. The study indicates that 92% of analytics and IT leaders believe the need for trusted data is higher than ever, according to researchers. 

Another global study reveals that organisations are increasingly struggling to obtain the right data in the right place for critical business decisions. Conducted by Dimensional Research, the research finds that 82% of companies are making decisions based on outdated information, leading to incorrect decisions and lost revenue, as confirmed by 85% of respondents. 

Stale data refers to information that is no longer relevant for daily operations, such as a decade-old employee handbook or multiple versions of a sales pitch created by a former employee. 

Similarly, a global study published in April by American IT firm Oracle states that 94% of leaders complain that the growing number of data sources has become a challenge for their business success, and 80% of tech leaders claim that the lack of trust in data has prevented them from making any business decisions. 

In India alone, 69% of business leaders admit to facing a decision dilemma, unsure of which decisions to make. For instance, Indian business leaders lament that this inability to make decisions negatively impacts their quality of life, leading to increased anxiety, missed opportunities, and unnecessary spending, as the researchers have shown.