In a business environment characterized by massive data growth and increasing complexity, the most effective data-driven companies today are propelled by collaboration between IT and the line-of-business. Top companies rely on a basis of trusted data that is clean, but also connected to other areas of the organization, in order to develop a more complete and accurate picture of the business and make more sound decisions.

Aberdeen’s research demonstrates that this approach to trusted data produces a more efficient decision environment and enhanced business performance. Companies with an environment of “trusted data” therefore have the following three capabilities in place:

  • Cross-functional exchange of information. Trusted data starts with accessibility. Rarely does a critical decision rely on a single source of information. Enriching and enhancing the foundation of data provides better decision support and builds enhanced confidence.  Trusted data companies are able to share information effectively across business functions.
  • Strong governance / oversight of data. As a vital counterpart to data sharing, companies also need to ensure the security and proper use of information. Trusted data companies have policies and procedures in place to provide a reasonable amount of oversight and management of their data.
  • High user satisfaction with data relevance. Production managers don’t need unstructured social media data any more than customer marketing analysts need machine-generated operational data. Data relevance is a critical aspect of any decision environment and trusted data companies report having a high degree of user satisfaction with this relevance.

Paving the Way for Data Discovery

Perhaps the biggest trend in the world of analytics now is the shift away from business users purely consuming pre-packaged intelligence in the form of a report or dashboard, and toward an environment that involves more ownership in creating that very intelligence.  Companies with trusted data are more likely to have traditional tools for automated or managed reporting, but are also 55% more likely to use technology for interactive visualization and discovery, essentially getting their hands dirty with data.

Moreover, with a collaborative partnership in place between IT and the line-of-business, companies with a trusted data approach are able to let each stakeholder shine in the way that delivers the most value to the organization.  In other words, business users can become self-sufficient with analytics. At the same time, IT leaders can solely maintain the reliability and expediency of the data flow within the organization. The outcome is a more efficient decision process and a higher degree of user engagement.

While the connection between trusted data and fast data might not be obvious, the findings shown above help illustrate this link.  A higher degree of access and self-service usage of analytics implies that business users have a better idea of what data they need for a particular analysis, and can reduce cycles in the process of communicating their needs to IT.  It also implies that some (if not most) of these decisions are being made without the need to burden IT at all.  This leads to faster delivery of information, fewer decisions rendered late, and more business opportunities exploited.