Business Leaders’ survey: Data More Important Since Coronavirus
In a recent survey conducted by Teradata and Vanson Bourne, business leaders cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a prime reason for their increasing reliance on data analytics. Carried out in September 2020, the quantitative research study sought opinions from IT decision-makers from the U.S., the UK, China, France, Germany and Japan.
Used to gain an insight into the impact of COVID-19 on data, analytics and global business, the survey sought to determine how IT directors plan to use data to aid their recovery, if at all. Additionally, survey respondents were asked how the pandemic has affected data use and whether their recent revelations surrounding analytics will affect their continued use of data in the future.
Data is Crucial to Recovery
Perhaps unsurprising, the vast majority of respondents maintain that data remains important in relation to decision-making. In fact, a staggering 90% of respondents reported that awareness surrounding the importance of data in decision-making has increased since the onset of the pandemic.
With many businesses eager to increase and refine their use of data, 82% of respondents are accelerating their plans to move key business functions and data to the cloud. It is, perhaps, this sentiment which is why so many companies plan to migrate to aws. While a significant proportion of all respondents are actively seeking to increase cloud functions, it is China which appears most committed to embracing the opportunities cloud solutions offer. 99% of respondents from China reported accelerating their plans in this area, while fewer respondents from other countries were determined to speed up their migration plans.
Accuracy is Under Scrutiny
With many major corporations using data as the basis for decision-making, it’s vital that access to accurate and verifiable data remains viable. It appears, however, that industries are shining a new light on the transparency and accuracy of data, with 77% of IT decision-makers reporting that their respective organisations are applying greater scrutiny to data accuracy due to how data was used in relation to coronavirus.
The difficulty in obtaining accurate information relating to COVID-19 highlighted many of the issues surrounding data accuracy. As companies scrambled to gain an insight into how the pandemic would affect societies and the economy, the varying information that was available was often inconsistent. It appears this has led to greater awareness of the problems that inaccurate data can present.
53% of respondents reported that the handling of data in relation to COVID-19 did affect trust in data but there seems to be a significant disparity in how different countries view the data difficulties the pandemic has highlighted. While only 28% of UK respondents reported trust in data being challenged, this increased significantly to 60% amongst U.S. respondents.
Data Remains an Essential Asset
While the survey did highlight key differences across the sector, it also showed a virtually unanimous opinion in relation to the importance of data. 95% of respondents maintain that data is an essential asset and one that’s key to recovery in a post-COVID climate.
With many businesses still struggling due to limited cloud solutions, it appears that the pandemic has highlighted the need for portable solutions and consistent access to accurate data. With many survey respondents citing these as crucial for recovery, it appears that businesses will need to embrace cloud solutions efficiently in order to gain the insights they need to plan for a robust recovery.