This article was written by Snowflake and originally appeared on the Snowflake Blog here: https://www.snowflake.com/blog/datas-evolution-in-the-cloud-using-data-to-power-technology/
Nearly all (94%) technology sector executives cite data as the most important competitive differentiator in the business landscape today, according to a recent survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Snowflake. However, data privacy regulations rank as the biggest challenge to technology organizations’ ability to draw insights from data.
These are some of the findings from the survey of 914 global executives across eight industries, including 111 from the IT, technology, and telecommunications sector (referred to as tech or technology in this report). The survey results reveal how this sector’s leaders are adapting their data strategies, engaging with the broader data ecosystem, and converting data insights into growth and better performance.
It’s clear that tech executives need to prioritize data security, as they say the biggest challenge with sharing data externally is the risk that confidential data will be leaked. However, tech industry executives rank second among the surveyed industries in citing the high cost of sourcing or sharing data as a major challenge (34% versus a survey average of 26%). They also rank highest among the surveyed industries citing barriers to sharing data among departments as one of the biggest challenges to drawing insights from data (30% versus a survey average of 25%).
Tech executives state that innovation in products and services will be most critical to their organization’s success over the next three years (46%). They also indicate that developing or improving new products or services presents the top opportunity from using data-driven insights (37%).
Understanding that data is an important competitive market differentiator, businesses will need to invest in technologies that enable them to unlock value from data, including instant and secure data sharing, both within and outside of their organization. They also need to glean data-driven insights to develop new products and services. Prioritizing data collaboration and innovation will be key to technology companies’ success in the coming years.