According to PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Data Management Survey 2004 of 452 companies in the US, UK and Australia, almost half of all respondents do not believe that senior management places enough importance on data quality.
Board level engagement in data management issues has actually declined in the past three years, in spite of significant changes to global business operating environments triggered by events such as major corporate scandals and new regulatory compliance requirements
Although 67 percent of all organisations surveyed claim to have a company-wide data management strategy in place, up from 63 percent in 2001, only two in five respondents are certain that their data management strategy has board approval. Only 59 percent of all respondents think that the senior management of their company place sufficient importance on data management.
The survey also revealed that 63 percent of respondents consider privacy, security and compliance with external regulations as the most important business driver, further raising the questions as to why there has not been a more substantial increase in board-approved data strategies.
"The decline in board engagement with data management issues is at odds with companies increasing dependence on data" said Henry Kenyon, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "With corporations establishing objectives of improving their level of transparency, and the clear linkage between data quality and reporting accuracy, it is surprising that having a data quality strategy is not a priority for board level executives."
This year’s survey also highlighted the fact that most organizations still view data quality management as an IT issue. About two thirds of respondents with a data strategy claimed that responsibility for driving that strategy resided within IT. The remaining respondents assigned responsibility for data management to senior management within their organisation, such as the CFO, CEO managing director or corporate board.
Confidence eroded
Over half of the respondents indicated that sharing of data to third parties is likely to increase over the next three years. Yet while respondents also indicated they are at least "somewhat" dependent on third party data, only 18 percent of respondents whose organizations share data with third parties are very confident in the quality of that data. Only 24% of companies claiming to use third party data are actually measuring the quality of that data. Fifty percent of respondents are at best only ‘fairly confident’ in others’ data while 24% express little to no confidence.
"With today’s collaborative e-commerce economy, it’s surprising that companies are not more formally engaged in validating the integrity of third party data," said Henry Kenyon, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "With an expected increase in the need to share data externally among companies, regulatory bodies and stakeholders, senior management must resolve to create and execute a strategic and actionable data quality program to validate not only data they receive from third parties, but the data they share with third parties."
A Critical Gap Between Intention and Execution
From the respondents that stated they did not have a formalized data management strategy, 81 percent agreed that their company should view data management more strategically and believed this could be accomplished within the next three years. For those companies that did not feel confident that they would have a formalized strategy, the primary barriers included lack of:
budget; board support; appreciation of the benefits ; knowledge about how to best manage the data; and belief that there is a problem.
"We are beginning to see organisations taking a more strategic approach to data management. Looking ahead this will give them real competitive advantage," said Paul Smith, director, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "A comprehensive data management programme can improve the company’s overall business performance as well as help companies reduce the costs associated with risk and compliance. The commitment to data quality needs to be driven from the top, with a clear accountability threaded throughout the company. Data quality is not simply an IT issue, but it is an imperative for the entire organization."
Best Practice
The respondents who were able to cite data management initiatives that produced a positive return on investment are the companies who do pay attention to data quality issues. Ninety percent of these "best practice organisations" responded that senior management does pay sufficient attention to data management. In addition, 60% of these companies measure the quality of their data compared to only 45% of overall respondents. Confidence for best practice organisations is also increased, with 45% feeling "very confident", compared to 34% overall.
