IT teams unable to deliver data fast enough to match the speed of business
Increasing data requests overwhelm IT teams, but security concerns hinder their ability to provide employees with access to timely data, according to CData Software.
The majority of Ops professionals feel that they are prohibited from accessing the data they need to make quick business decisions, which can lead to bad practices and impact the organization’s overall data-driven decision-making capabilities.
“IT is challenged to keep up with increasing demand for timely data access, while also ensuring the security and governance of that data,” said Amit Sharma, CData CEO. “Flexible, secure data connectivity solutions ease the burden on IT and provide employees with the data they need to make impactful decisions for their business.”
Data requests overburden IT teams
68% of IT workers feel overwhelmed by the number of technical resources that are required to access the data they need to work, and 81% believe other employees at their organization feel the same. In fact, one in four enterprise organizations use more than 100 different applications and systems to manage their operations.
41% of respondents indicated that they spend up to 60% of their workweek attending to data requests from colleagues or teams, yet are still unable to deliver data fast enough to match the speed of modern business.
The top three challenges preventing IT employees at organizations from most effectively providing other teams with relevant data include security controls around data (61%), limited access to operational data itself (47%), and challenges to data sharing (46%).
Many Ops decision-makers readily admit to overlooking crucial data due to accessibility issues. 69% of respondents acknowledged disregarding data inputs, with the primary reason being the inability to access information promptly (49%).
Low adoption of live data access in organizations
The number of organizations that currently support access to live data is staggeringly low. In today’s competitive economic climate, even waiting a few minutes for data to refresh (like 24% of businesses have to do) can be too long. In fact, less than 20% of those surveyed said access to financial or other data reports currently happens in real time.
Further, more than a quarter of respondents said they have waited a day or longer for necessary data to compile, with some cases taking as long as weeks or even months. These delays, no matter the length, hinder quick decision-making.
Even worse, when leaders can’t get information quickly enough — or when it is too difficult to access or integrate with existing processes — over a third will ignore data altogether when setting strategy or planning.
Data connectivity will do more than relieve IT teams – it’s the missing link behind security and data literacy issues that are prominent in today’s technology landscape. Overburdened by data requests, IT teams are ignoring vital data they need due to a lack of easy access, preventing them from delivering holistic, live views of data to support meaningful business insights. This oversight puts organizations on the precipice of a potential rash of bad practices that can negatively impact business operations, decision-making, and outcomes.