Study: Businesses Losing $140 Billion Annually to Disconnected Data
SAN MATEO, Calif. — June 27, 2017 — SnapLogic, the leader in self-service application and data integration, today announced the results of a new study which uncovered that organizations in the US and UK are losing $140 billion1 each year to disconnected data.
The negative impact is more than just financial. The study, conducted by independent research firm Vanson Bourne, also found that nearly half of respondents (47%) believe disconnected data is negatively impacting their organization’s ability to innovate, develop new products and services and get them to market quickly. In addition, their ability to engage, support, and meet the needs of customers (46%) is also negatively impacted.
Aging technology is only compounding this problem. The study found that organizations are struggling to unite their disparate systems. For more than four in ten (41%), critical company data is trapped in legacy systems that cannot be accessed or linked to cloud services. Seventy-six (76%) percent of respondents have at least some data trapped in this way.
David Downing, Chief Marketing Officer at SnapLogic said: “The data economy is in full swing with every department across the enterprise relying on data to get their jobs done effectively, whether Marketing, HR, IT, or Sales. And yet we continue to see the same issues around legacy technology, disconnected systems, and trapped data. This is hampering collaboration, decision-making and timely business outcomes, and with the cost reaching into the billions, we need to act.”
Indeed, it’s not just siloed technology which is resulting in disconnected data. Businesses are also failing to walk the walk in terms of collaboration. For more than four in ten (44%), a lack of collaboration between business departments has been a challenge, while three in ten (30%) have found that different departments are hindering collaboration by being overly protective of their own systems and data.
Unsurprisingly, given this lack of collaboration, over a fifth (21%) claim to not know what data other departments hold, and one in six (17%) don’t know how many data sources even exist. Uniting company data is a difficult task for organizations, especially when data silos seem to be a common occurrence.
As a result of disconnected data, workers are on average also spending more time searching for, acquiring, entering, or moving data (8 hours per week) than they do making decisions on that data (7 hours per week).
IT is already trying to solve this problem with manual quick fixes being used to link systems, but nearly half (48%) of respondents’ want to get rid of these compromised shortcuts within their organization. What’s more, nearly a third (31%) have experienced errors, data loss, or privacy violations in their organization as a result of manual moves or ad hoc coding to integrate data.
Downing concluded: “Organizations need to be rethinking how they approach the access to and use of data within, and across, teams. If a business cannot be innovative, bring products to market in a timely manner, or deliver the level of service their customers expect then they simply aren’t going to be around for much longer.”
1 Based on SBA Office of Advocacy statistics for size of organization in the United States https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_Sept_2012.pdf and ONS UK Activity Size and Location Report https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation
To review the full results of this study on “The High Cost of Disconnected Data,” click here.
About the research
The research was conducted by independent research house Vanson Bourne in April and May 2017. 500 interviews were conducted in total, comprised of 250 IT decision makers and 250 business users of cloud-based or externally hosted applications. Survey respondents were from large organizations with more than 500 employees in the US and UK.
About Vanson Bourne
Vanson Bourne is an independent specialist in market research for the technology sector. Our reputation for robust and credible research-based analysis is founded upon rigorous research principles and our ability to seek the opinions of senior decision makers across technical and business functions, in all business sectors and all major markets. For more information, visit vansonbourne.com.
About SnapLogic
SnapLogic is the global leader in self-service integration. The company’s Enterprise Integration Cloud makes it fast and easy to connect applications, data, and devices with no coding. Hundreds of customers across the Global 2000 – including Adobe, AstraZeneca, Box, Capital One, GameStop, Verizon, and Wendy’s – rely on SnapLogic to automate business processes, accelerate analytics, and drive digital transformation. SnapLogic was founded by data industry veteran Gaurav Dhillon and is backed by blue-chip investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Capital One, Ignition Partners, Microsoft, Triangle Peak Partners, and Vitruvian Partners. Learn more at snaplogic.com.