Weak analytics capabilities - ranging from siloed data, outdated technology and a lack of analytical talent - are preventing organizations from gaining valuable insight that could lead to better business results, according to a survey data released by Accenture.
The survey of 600 senior managers at more than 500 blue-chip organizations in the US and the UK & Ireland found that more than half the respondents said their organizations are structured in a way that prevents data and analytical talent from generating enterprise-wide insight, according to Accenture.
Nonetheless, the research revealed that senior managers currently fail to see fact- and data-driven analysis as critical when making key business decisions and instead rely heavily on ‘gut feel’ and ‘soft’ factors such as consultation with others, intuition and experience.
The findings indicate that little has changed since 2008, when a previous Accenture survey found that 40 percent of business decisions were based on judgment rather than business analytics, often due to a lack of good data.
Accenture said that organizations are also failing to tap into one of the innovative capabilities of analytics: the ability to predict future business events in order to act before the events occur.
Further, while some organizations do analyze data to predict what might happen in the future in terms of competitor activities, market trends, product/service development, risk management, financial/economic trends and skill requirements, many organizations are still using predictive analytics only to a minor extent, if at all.
Dave Rich, managing director of the Accenture Analytics Group, said: “While there are many tools that enable organizations to examine historical data, what’s needed is the ability to properly identify and analyze the data and gain the insight that enables one to make better decisions.
“This is a huge opportunity that organizations are failing to harness. The need for speed in decision-making is a key competitive differentiator, and lacking the insight into customers’ preferences means mounting an expensive come-from-behind response. We believe that predictive analytics will be the difference between the winners and losers in the next economic cycle.”
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