New Study Finds Data Intelligence Maturity Drives 3x Better Business Outcomes

Data intelligence specialist Collibra has sponsored a new IDC white paper, the 2022 Data Intelligence Index, that finds organizations with higher levels of maturity concerning data intelligence are likely to realize higher business benefits and performance compared to their peers.

Data intelligence answers the who, what, where, when, and why questions that give context to an organization’s data to allow for better data management, governance, and security. The maturity of an organization’s data intelligence depends on how it combines several related factors to build data culture and increase data literacy: “In a digital-first world, organizations need to put data first,” reads the paper’s introduction. “An organization that puts data first is one that has a strong data culture, informed by intelligence about data, which enables data cataloging, lineage, quality management, and governance to improve trust in data and business outcomes.”

The four levels of data intelligence maturity. Source: Collibra/IDC

In the study, 67% of respondents reported that access to intelligence about important data is crucial to their success. Nevertheless, 65% reported challenges with identifying and controlling data sources, with only 5% claiming no data governance issues.

IDC identified four groups among the survey’s respondents ranging from low to high levels of maturity across data intelligence management, data cataloging, data governance, data quality, data culture, and data intelligence metrics (see graphic at right). The paper illustrates how the most mature, data-driven companies in Level 4 are implementing and organizing their data cataloging, governance, and quality efforts in the most efficient way for effectively activating data intelligence. IDC says the most mature organizations are innovative, careful to adhere with regulatory compliance, and focused on reducing time to market for new products and services. The paper concludes that these mature companies are realizing three times more business benefits than their less mature peers who have difficulty activating data intelligence.

This graph shows survey responses regarding data catalog capabilities. Source: Collibra/IDC

The study highlights the key objectives companies have for data intelligence initiatives, including making improvements in data security (50%), data quality (44%), efficiency of data management and analytics (45%), and how data is used for decision making (42%). Data modernization efforts, driven by the need for increased operational efficiency, were noted as an objective by 38% of respondents who are turning to newer cloud data warehouses and lakes for their scalability and performance.

Data culture and strategy are also important for mature organizations, and the study found that 86% of respondents have a dedicated team responsible for data culture and data literacy. They also have a higher representation of groups outside of IT participating in data initiatives and are more likely to have a chief data officer leading overall data strategy, according to IDC.

In addition to the informative white paper, Collibra commissioned IDC to create a Data Intelligence Assessment Tool. Organizations can use this assessment tool to find their own data intelligence maturity level compared to peers. The tool also provides a customized report with suggestions for optimizing data intelligence factors.

These are the data governance processes survey respondents have in place. Source: Collibra/IDC

Collibra is known for its work in promoting data governance before it was cool, and it has expanded that focus to overall data intelligence, including governance and lineage, cataloging and discovery, quality and observability, as well as privacy and security. The company doubled its valuation to over $5 billion in the past year, and this sponsored white paper may reflect why Collibra’s emphasis on data intelligence is paying off.

“The findings from IDC show that while organizations recognize the need for data intelligence, adoption and cultural barriers remain the biggest challenge to maximizing value and sustained business success,” said Stijn “Stan” Christiaens, Co-founder and Chief Data Citizen at Collibra. “When organizations have executive leadership prioritizing data culture and actively engaging a variety of stakeholders in data intelligence, digital transformation efforts succeed. Making an investment in data culture is the most significant move an organization can make to ensure efficiency, productivity, and a strong competitive advantage.”

Read the entire 2022 Data Intelligence Index here.

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