Lack of data analysis costs UK firms dear
Poll underlines that appropriate IT use could improve decision making
A poll of 200 UK C-level executives found that 86 believe they have made less revenue and 72 that they have lost customers as a result of slow decision making that could probably be improved by increased use of data analysis.
The study, sponsored by NetApp, suggested that while many businesses may recognise the value of data analysis in making informed, rapid decisions, a great many do not in fact carry any out.
"Eighty-nine per cent of UK C-level executives [that we asked] are making decisions without data analysis, despite rating data as very significant in the decision-making process," the vendor said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 120 respondents also agreed they needed to make decisions faster than they did even a year ago. Some 162 said decision making certainly needed to be faster today than five years ago.
"Nearly 74 per cent of survey respondents said that data is vital to decision making and more important than instinct," NetApp said.
And yet 124 (62 per cent) said their executive team did not always use data when making decisions, the vendor said.
"Only 44 per cent of executive respondents feel that the IT infrastructure always supports their decision-making needs," it said.
Thirty-nine per cent (78 respondents) said their IT infrastructure usually supports them, while 14 per cent said it only does so occasionally. Three per cent said it rarely helped them make decisions, and two per cent said it never supported their decision making.
"However ... 97 per cent of respondents reported that their organisations either have or plan to adopt new technologies to help them make decisions more quickly. Where these new systems are already in place, 81 per cent of executives [in this survey] reported significant or very significant time savings when accessing data," NetApp said.
The survey was carried out by content marketing provider Vanson Bourne across a variety of different sized UK businesses.