Data Debt Emerges as Core Business Issue for Global 2000 Enterprises, But Shortage of Specialized Talent Remains Top Challenge in Data Management

New Report: Don’t drown in data debt; champion your Data First culture reveals that a lack of comprehensive data strategies among Global 2000 enterprises is curtailing use of AI tools and undermining business goals. Highlights of the report include:

• Nearly 85% of enterprise leaders agree that effective data management significantly drives topline, bottom line, and shareholder value.
• Enterprises perceive that over 40% of their organizational data is unusable and is either not trusted, lacks quality, not updated, inaccurate, duplicated, or inconsistent.
• Improving operational data availability to integrate AI tools is emerging as the #1 challenge in implementing AI technologies.
• Unified data management is critical. Aligning data initiatives with business goals is crucial for reducing inefficiencies and maximizing data utility.

New York – July 18, 2024 – HFS Research, a leading global research and analysis firm, in partnership with Syniti, a global leader in enterprise data management, recently released a report titled Don’t drown in data debt; champion your Data First culture that reveals that Global 2000 enterprises are hindered by data debt, lack comprehensive data strategies, and realize the need for specialized talent to meet business goals.

The report interviewed 300+ Global 2000 business leaders (49% from the U.S.) across industries to study how organizations are navigating a complex landscape of data management challenges and how those hurdles could impede their ability to fully leverage operational efficiency and drive business growth. It recommends that enterprises adopt a Data First culture, implement comprehensive data management strategies, and shift towards outcome-driven partnerships with service providers to prevail.

The report specifically recommends five strategic principles that will enable meaningful progress in addressing data debt and championing a Data First culture:

1. Data isn’t just IT’s problem; it’s a core business issue. The strategic goal for data management is to facilitate seamless end-to-end business processes, supporting the “OneOffice” experience, where people, intelligence, processes, and infrastructure come together as one integrated unit, with one set of unified business outcomes.
2. Data and AI have a chicken-and-egg relationship. You need to address both together. Better data management emerges as the #1 initiative to leverage AI capabilities better.
3. Measure the impact of bad data; it’s critical to reducing your data debt. Less than 40% of organizations interviewed have methods and metrics in place to quantify the impact of bad data on their organizations.
4. Data is a huge people issue. The shortage of specialized talent is one of the top 3 challenges in data management.
5. Professional services need to be reframed as business data services—with a focus on outcomes, not effort. Nearly 90% of enterprises rely on third-party providers for data initiatives. However, focusing on effort rather than results leads to inefficiencies. Enterprises must demand providers prioritize meaningful results to drive true value.

Kevin Campbell, CEO, Syniti, said: “This research proves what we have believed for some time, that the fundamental problem with past data approaches is in the skills needed and applied. We are now at an inflection point in the evolution from generalists to specialists; data work is unique and complex and requires 100% dedicated focus to build specialized skills, training and needed career paths. To achieve real, tangible business benefits from your data, you need skilled data specialists who understand data in context – not business generalists or developers. It’s also gratifying to see this research validate that our Data First approach is crucial to driving successful transformations, whether that’s achieving the benefits of applying GenAI or transforming the underlying business functions and systems.”

Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, HFS Research, said: “Our research proves that a Data First culture means data isn’t just IT’s problem; it’s a core business issue. Many business leaders still take a backseat when setting key data objectives, causing data to remain siloed across departments, and resulting in misaligned expectations across IT and business professionals. The focus for enterprise leaders must be on developing strategic talent that understands the business context behind the data.”

Read the full report

About Syniti

Syniti solves the world’s most complex data challenges by uniquely combining intelligent software and vast data expertise to yield certain and superior business outcomes. For over 15 years, Syniti has partnered with the Fortune 2000 to unlock valuable insights that ignite growth, reduce risk and increase their competitive advantage. Syniti’s silo-free enterprise data management platform supports data migration, data quality, data replication, master data management, analytics, data governance, and data strategy in a single, unified solution. Syniti is a portfolio company of private equity firm Bridge Growth Partners LLC. Read more at www.Syniti.com.

About HFS Research

HFS is a leading global research and analysis firm trusted at the highest levels of executive leadership. Our mission is to help our clients—major enterprises, tech firms, and service providers—tackle challenges, make bold moves, and bring big ideas to life by arming them with accurate, visionary, and thought-provoking insight into issues that impact their business. HFS analysts and strategists have deep, real-world experience in subjects they cover. They’re respected for independent, no-nonsense perspectives based on thorough research, demand-side data, and personal engagements with industry leaders. Visit www.hfsresearch.com.

Contact:

Media Contact for HFS Research:
Hilary McCarthy
Clearpoint Agency
774.364.1440
Hilary@clearpointagency.com

Media Contact for Syniti:
Shannon Van Every
Force4 Technology Communications
shannon@force4.co