Why Is Data Quality Holding Up Data-Driven Business Decisions?

Why Is Data Quality Holding Up Data-Driven Business Decisions?
👋 Hi, I am Mark. I am a strategic futurist and innovation keynote speaker. I advise governments and enterprises on emerging technologies such as AI or the metaverse. My subscribers receive a free weekly newsletter on cutting-edge technology.

Only a few years ago, the data in the world used to be primarily structured data that was relatively easy to analyse. However, in the age of information overload, most of the data has become unstructured or semi-structured data. In fact, currently 90% of all data is unstructured data such as documents, videos, images, voice records etc. Combining these different data sources and putting it into context in order to get, real-time, insights is a big challenge for business leaders.

According to a survey by ClearStory Data among 500 business leaders at the Strata Conference in October 2014, data variety is the biggest challenge they need to overcome in order to become successful with Big Data. Almost 50% of the business leaders surveyed indicates that they need to blend 8-15 different data sources. Combining and mixing those data sources takes time and for over 2/3 of the business leaders surveyed this takes too long for them to make it useful. Combining multiple data sources with different varieties provides great insights for organizations, but doing so correctly is not very easy. It requires the right tools and employees to manage it correctly.

As a result, for many of the organizations surveyed, the challenge to correctly mix multiple data sources has become more important. In fact, this ‘Mixed Data’ approach has become a bigger challenge for business leaders than data quality, which of course still does remain a challenge for organizations. According to an InformationWeek survey, the percentage of organizations that put data quality as their top priority has dropped from 59% to 51%. An interesting finding as without correct data and algorithms, any insights from analytics is deemed useless.

Combining data sources can offer fantastic insights, but unfortunately for many organizations it is still a long way away. The below infographic provides more insights in why data quality is holding up data-driven decision-making within organizations. What do you think is the main challenge for organizations wanting to become data driven? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Data quality
Image Credit: MaximP/Shutterstock
Dr Mark van Rijmenam

Dr Mark van Rijmenam

Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is a strategic futurist known as The Digital Speaker. He stands at the forefront of the digital age and lives and breathes cutting-edge technologies to inspire Fortune 500 companies and governments worldwide. As an optimistic dystopian, he has a deep understanding of AI, blockchain, the metaverse, and other emerging technologies, blending academic rigor with technological innovation.

His pioneering efforts include the world’s first TEDx Talk in VR in 2020. In 2023, he further pushed boundaries when he delivered a TEDx talk in Athens with his digital twin, delving into the complex interplay of AI and our perception of reality. In 2024, he launched a digital twin of himself, offering interactive, on-demand conversations via text, audio, or video in 29 languages, thereby bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds – another world’s first.

Dr. Van Rijmenam is a prolific author and has written more than 1,200 articles and five books in his career. As a corporate educator, he is celebrated for his candid, independent, and balanced insights. He is also the founder of Futurwise, which focuses on elevating global knowledge on crucial topics like technology, healthcare, and climate change by providing high-quality, hyper-personalized, and easily digestible insights from trusted sources.

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