Business execs are practically swimming in data, especially in marketing and other comms fields. But is all this data actually providing them with the customer takeaways they’re looking for? New research from predictive analytics software firm Prevedere, in partnership with Microsoft, illustrates a disconnect between the plethora of data a company maintains and the forward-looking, actionable insights desired by executives.
According to the new report, Improving Data Analytics: The Most Valuable First Step towards Digital Transformation, based on responses from over 200 C-Level and VP Level executives, three major themes emerged:
Dealing with these challenges is imperative for executives to gain a confident view of their company’s future performance and to begin the journey of Digital Transformation.
“The survey results identified gaps executives are currently facing regarding their data and analytics programs including having the right software, converting data into insights, gathering internal and external data, and access to global data,” said Rich Wagner, CEO of Prevedere, in a news release. “Our software not only collects and curates nearly 3 million global data series but also quickly identifies leading indicators specific to a company and fuels insights to drive business decisions.”
Key findings:
- Executives are tactical and reactive 60 percent of their time each day, which may be the result of not having the right strategic insights.
- Over 64 percent of respondents say having the right data integrated within their planning process would improve their financial forecast, with 36.8 percent of those surveyed saying it would “greatly” improve results. Unfortunately, more than 2/3 of companies surveyed incorporate external data less than 50 percent of the time during forecast and planning activities.
- When asked in terms of data that hinders executives’ business planning process, nearly 46 percent say having the right software to collect and synthesize data.
“As executives strive to move towards a data-driven culture and truly transform their organizations, the initial phase should be to empower teams to turn data into predictive analytics using technology such as machine learning,” said ShiSh Shridhar, worldwide director of retail business strategy at Microsoft, in the release. “Together, Prevedere and Microsoft offer executives a clear, concise, and ROI-driven ‘first step’ on the Digital Transformation Roadmap.”