A new Salesforce report data has highlighted the huge increase that businesses are set to see in their available data, although many are already struggling to cope with the information they already have.
Around three-quarters (73%) of the Uptapped Data Research survey’s 10,000 respondents believed data builds trust in business conversations, and eight in 10 business leaders claim that data is critical to decision-making in their organization.
However, many are struggling to make sense of their existing data, citing complexity and lack of accessibility.
How important is data to businesses?
Salesforce emphasizes the “clear disconnect” between the advantages of using data in business decisions and how leaders are using it in practice, and this is likely to become even more accentuated as the amount of data available to businesses doubles by 2026.
Currently, missed opportunities are seen by 79% of business leaders, who are failing to use data efficiently to inform diversity and inclusion policies. A further 83% are missing out on the opportunity to use insights to help guide their climate targets in an era where companies worldwide and under more pressure to meet emission goals.
Part of the reason why data has proven so beneficial to decision making is because it generally provides a quantitative perspective, helping to eliminate personal influences that often occur in business conversations. It subsequently boosts focus and helps make processes more efficient.
Despite the obvious benefits, many of the respondents said that they are unable to generate insights from data, and that there can be too much, highlighting the need for further data literacy training within organizations.
In an age where total business optimizations has never been so important, it’s clear that investing in tools that help you make the most of the facts and figures available to your business is key to success.
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