Looking at the numbers
Data is a major part of running a business. But how do you know for sure that your data is accurate?
According to a study just released by information services company Experian Data Quality, businesses don’t always trust the accuracy of their data.
Instinct over integers
The report surveyed 1,400 data professionals in eight countries.
In the United States, 84 percent of businesses reported that data is “an integral part of forming a business strategy.”
However, over half of the organizations said that they didn’t necessarily trust their data for making important businesses decisions, instead relying on guesswork and instincts.
Working the numbers together
Organizations, on average, estimated that over a quarter of their data is inaccurate, and 73 percent of C-level executives said that inaccurate data was a hindrance to providing good customer service.
The study also found that 82 percent of businesses have “less than optimum data management practices.”
Part of the problem is that data management practices are inconsistent, and that different departments are collecting data separately and haven’t necessarily developed strategies to share information with each other.
IT on the frontlines
In the survey, 62 percent of respondents said that the IT department had the biggest influence on data-related decisions compared to other departments.
In lay terms, many companies leave the entire job of data management to the IT department alone.
And while your IT department might do a great job collecting data, it shouldn’t be up to them alone to interpret that data and use it to make decisions.
Thomas Schutz, senior vice president and general manager at Experian, said “The IT department may not always know the context under which certain data was created or acquired, nor do they know the intended uses for the data down the road.”
Everybody pulls their weight
Despite the overemphasis on IT, 70 percent or organizations surveyed said that they thought it was best for the business as a whole to handle data, with IT helping out as needed.
To learn more, read the full Global data management benchmark report.
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