Data is very valuable, just don't ask us to measure it, leaders say
- Reference: 1740179051
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/02/21/data_survey_analyst/
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There is a massive value vibe around data... but there are few who can substantiate it
The result from Gartner – a staggering one considering the attention heaped on big data and its various hype-oriented successors – found that in a survey of chief data and analytics (D&A) officers, only 22 percent had defined, tracked, and communicated business impact metrics for the bulk of their data and analytics use cases.
It wasn't for lack of interest though. For more than 90 percent of the 504 respondents, value-focused and outcome-focused areas of the D&A leader's role have gained dominance over the past 12 to 18 months, and will continue to be a concern in the future.
It is difficult, though: 30 percent of respondents say their top challenge is the inability to measure data, analytics and AI impact on business outcomes.
"There is a massive value vibe around data, where many organizations talk about the value of data, desire to be data-driven, but there are few who can substantiate it," said Michael Gabbard, senior director analyst at Gartner.
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He added that while most chief data and analytics officers were responsible for data strategy, a third do not see putting in place an operating model as a primary responsibility. "There is a perennial gap between planning and execution for D&A leaders," he said.
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A lack of progress in seeing the business value in data and analytics is interesting, since the hype around big data has been around for roughly 15 years, when the Hadoop Distributed File System became the next big thing. What's more, it's roughly 10 years since [4]Hadoop slinger Hortonworks saw its shares rise 65 percent on the day of its IPO.
It later [5]merged with fellow Hadoop vendor Cloudera, which enjoyed some choppy waters thereafter.
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Still, big data never really died, it just found a new platform. This time on object storage in the cloud, with Snowflake becoming a poster child for the trend, and enjoying its own [7]staggering $120 billion valuation shortly after its IPO in 2020.
Gartner estimated that the data and analytics software market was worth around [8]$150 billion in 2023 .
[9]Watchdog warns FBI is sloppy on secure data storage and destruction
[10]UK financial regulator slammed for failed tech transformation
[11]Britain opens floodgates to US datacenter investment
[12]UK needs a 'digital twin' to keep track of its data assets – report
In its latest research, the tech research biz is saying data is going to be even more important as "boards and C-suites are now prioritizing investments in AI to drive business transformation and remain competitive," according to a recent paper. To do this, they must rely on chief data and analytics officers to "deliver foundational AI-ready data, governance and people that are pivotal to AI success."
Gartner added: "While C-suites want AI, they don't necessarily know the details of what new capabilities are needed for 'AI-ready data'."
It follows that anyone building AI models on organizational data will require a robust data platform. But it does raise an interesting question: will we be back in another 10 years wondering who is measuring the business value of all that AI in which organizations have invested billions? ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
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[4] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-11/hortonworks-raises-100-million-pricing-ipo-above-range
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2019/01/07/cloudera_hortonworks_merger_completed/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z7lZ8tJudNbAEDmQc2ypbgAAABQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/15/a_flurry_of_data_warehouse/
[8] https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/5485495#:~:text=The%20overall%20data%20and%20analytics,%25%20and%2021.8%25%2C%20respectively
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/26/fbi_data_security/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/27/fca_transformation_program/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/15/uk_datacenter_investment/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2017/12/15/uk_needs_a_digital_twin_to_keep_track_of_its_data_assets_report/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
And to whom would the CIOs turn to give them the results of the benefits of data analytics?
We data people may be the best to demonstrate the old adage about data, statistics, and lies.
Having worked in a few shops that are responsible for producing fancy presentations for my customers, I know very well how to let other interested parties know how valuable my work is/not.
That's one of those rhetorical questions, isn't it?
> will we be back in another 10 years wondering who is measuring the business value of all that AI in which organizations have invested billions?
Yes.
Yes, of course we will.
At least with "Big Data" you might be able to find somebody to take it off your hands[1] (but do it quick before everyone else realises they can't really make money from any old data either).
But what you gonna do with your "AI investment"?
Most of you don't own the kit, just bought a subscription, so by then you're just stuck with a decade's worth of random output. Bet you can't even track what text & prompts were used to generate it - or even know what parts of what emails and documents were generated by machine in the first place! You know you got some outputs, the bill says 45 million tokens worth - but just where has it all gone?
[1]"Awrite guv, 'kin gives yer a pony per terabyte, that's me limit. Ok? Roight, Jim, start grabbing drives. Yeah, yeah, we'll just file down the table headers then flog the lot to DoubleClick".
After fifteeen years decade...
Tyop in the tagline...
The fool's diagonal (aka bishop)
Data is valuable alright, but as with other stuff, more valuable after it has been processed (through multiple steps) into some finished product, say information. I like to make an analogy to a Persian rug (high value processed good), that's made from goat hair (relatively low value raw material). The wool has to be pre-processed through washing, drying, spinning into yarns and dyeing, before it can be used in rugmaking, and it's only once that's done that the intricate process of weaving the rug can begin. The prepared thread (cleaned up data) is more valuable per gram than the wool (raw data), and the eventual rug (information) is the most valued. Clearly, goats also need to be kept fed for the whole process to be sustainable.
There may also be a sweet-spot in loom size to be used for the weaving. Tiny looms might produce only napkins while humongous ones may result in carpets too big to fit any room unless only a small portion of that loom is actually used. We see the same thing with data processing by human brains, where the largest recorded one, at +108% of average, belonged to an individual with intellectual disabilites and epilepsy who died in a Netherlands' asylum at age 21. The second largest one, at +29% of average, belonged " similarly " to serial killer and medical doctor E.H. Rulloff. Conversely, Einstein's 1,230 gram genius brain was -10% of average for men (almost exactly average for women).
This to say then, that pursuing ever bigger " AI " systems (looking at you xAI's Colossus and OpenAI's Stargate) to process cleaned-up (hopefully) data into information, is likely a fool's errand at best, and a catastrophic waste of resources and efficiency at worst. The resulting systems are likely to become artificial serial killers that will need to be institutionalized into corresponding synthetic asylums ...
IOW three quarters of businesses making big investments in data not only don't know if they have a positive ROI, they don't have a way to find out. Would they make any other investment on that basis? Blinded by the big shiny!