Data exists everywhere and is the second most essential asset of a business, only after its human resources. However, unless people are empowered to become data literate, businesses will never get the most out of their data – and the hidden insights in that data will be lost.
Even though enterprises are expected to be data-driven, a new report by Oracle on data management trends, shows, only 50% of organizations in Asia Pacific region are confident that they can master their data. In other words, less than half of the respondents are able to effectively manage, secure and gain insights from data and use it responsibly. While Indian businesses have more confidence in their data management vis-à-vis their peers from other APAC countries, there’s still a long way to go when it comes to data literacy and empowerment.
In a recent exclusive conversation with CXOToday, Srikanth Doranadula, Senior Director and Head-Systems Business, Oracle India believes the opportunity is immense in the data driven world if organizations focus on why the other half has not yet mastered their data management practices.
On the latest trends in data management in India, Doranadula explains, “In today’s digital world, data is an economic factor of production and a kind of a capital asset provided it’s put to good use. There are 2.5 Quintilian bytes of data created each day at our current pace. What’s even more fascinating is that more and more use of emerging technologies will further accelerate this growth.”
As mentioned earlier, it is interesting to see that Indian enterprises having more confidence in their data management compared to other APAC countries. In terms of being confident of the security of data, India and Japan are the most confident at 80% and 63%, while China, Korea and Singapore are the least confident.
Doranadula observes, “Decision makers in India are more capable of managing the data they generate over others. “While SMBs appear to be struggling the most to extract meaningful insights out of their data, larger organizations too are not faring as well as we’d expect,possibly because of the data avalanche they’re dealing with. Ultimately, the industry needs to realize that the quality of insights, at pace, at scale, real-time, is what matters most to the business.”
Doranadula notes an interesting aspect of the report that throws light on one alarming fact. Only 40% of business leaders are ‘highly confident’ in their organization’s ability to manage data and unlock meaningful insights.
The findings suggest that organizations are still being overwhelmed by the data deluge faced and that companies need to tackle the problem head on. As Doranadula notes, “Even with so much data existing, companies still seem to lack a clear data strategy. Responsible use as well as effective management of data is key elements for success in the digital economy.”
He believes that security is one of the biggest concerns across organizations. Only 58% of all decision makers agreed that managing data security was very important to their organization, especially when they’re increasingly moving their business-critical workloads or sensitive data to the cloud. “In such a scenario, businesses should think of an autonomous approach to IT,” he says.
“To begin with, a business needs to cultivate a safety-first mindset. Good data management practices which would require basic protocols to reduce uncertainty and make data more manageable are the need of the hour,” he mentions.
Also, ownership of ‘data management’ appears to be another grey area for a number of large businesses with many departments. In effect, businesses are missing out on effective and secure data management practices, mentions Doranadula.
For example, when it comes to looking at who is accountable for securing data, there seems to be confusion about who is meant to take the lead. At the same time, there are many key internal behaviors that compromise trust. For example, while nearly half of all finance and IT decision makers say they are accountable for securing data within their organization, only a third of those who typically use data – marketing and HR – revealed they take accountability.
The key, therefore, is to align people with the technology and the data, and give people access to the right data that will actively assist them in developing the insights relevant to their jobs, the study concludes.