Fewer than a third (31%) of data professionals - including data analysts, data scientists and data quality managers - are fully confident in their ability to deliver trusted data at speed throughout their organisation, in direct contrast to their colleagues working in IT.
So says a new global survey from cloud specialist Talend, which reveals that organisations are not only struggling to deliver trusted data when they need to deliver it; they are also finding it hard to gain credibility internally, in the market and with customers.
Talend senior vice-president of products Ciaran Dynes claims that the different levels of confidence displayed by people at a management level and operational data workers are not surprising, they are definitely worrying.
He added: "Organisations need to build a bridge between IT and data workers - responsible for delivering at speed - and the people in charge of building and safeguarding trust, something which is often led at an executive level.
"Although generating trust may come from the top, the ability to deliver trusted data at speed requires the commitment of every data specialist within an organisation as well as cultural alignment. This usually relies on the work of data champions, who have the skills to lead cultural change in data handling and processes as well."
The survey also highlights a number of significant gaps in business culture.
Speed and integrity: Talend argues that when organisations succeed in combining speed with integrity, they can deliver intelligent and trusted data in everything they do. However, despite the importance of ensuring speed and trust in data, a mere 11% of respondents consider that their businesses have reached excellence in both speed and integrity.
Trust in data: Overall, data professionals are less confident in their organisations’ abilities to trust in their own data, with only 31% showing high levels of confidence. By contrast, 46% of respondents at a management level are confident in the ability of their organisations to deliver trusted data at speed.
For regulatory compliance, one of the key criteria to evaluate is trust. Some 52% of respondents at a management level claim to be very optimistic when it comes to having achieved compliance with data regulations, while the rate falls to 39% among the operational data workers - who may be in charge of making the practical changes to deliver compliance.
Data quality: The survey also shows that only 38% of respondents believe their organisations excel in controlling data quality. Less than one in three (29%) operational data workers are confident their companies’ data is always accurate and up-to-date.
Real-time data: Having access to real-time or at least timely data accelerates changes and helps organisations to make faster, more reliable strategic business decisions, which lead to better outcomes. But, according to the survey, only 34% of operational data workers believe in their organisations’ capability to succeed in a 360-degree real-time data integration process; those at a management level, however, again feel more confident (46%) in this regard.
Dynes added: "We’ve entered the era of the information economy, where data has become the most critical asset for every single organisation. Data-driven strategies are imperative for success in any industry. To support business objectives such as revenue growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction, organisations require trusted data which can be delivered when it is needed and relied upon to drive critical business insights.
"Trust in data has to be paramount because without trusted data there can be no confidence in business decisions, and at that point stakeholder and customer trust will quickly evaporate too."
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