In the 2018 Tech Insight Report, we asked business and IT executives, managers, and team members whether they believe that “business decisions should be based on data analytics.” Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority (85%) of respondents agreed that strategic decisions should be based on data.

While it’s hard to dispute that taking the guesswork out of decision-making to solve complex business challenges through data analytics is anything but a major advantage for business, our survey findings show that only 19% of midsize businesses are actively planning their analytics/big data initiatives in 2018. While data analytics may be a mainstream idea, it has yet to become mainstream in practice for a midsize organization.

With the cost of technology coming down, and new innovations making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes to leverage their data, why isn’t every organization diving into their data headfirst? In our experience talking extensively to midsize business and IT leaders across a wide spectrum of industries, it’s clear that getting started remains the single biggest challenge.

After all, technology is evolving faster than ever before. More data was created in 2017 than the previous 5,000 years of humanity! That’s an overwhelming amount of data to wrap our heads around, and most organizations don’t have a Data quality or data warehousing specialist on staff to help lead the charge. Additionally, adopting a culture of data-driven decision-making takes more than just purchasing the technology and organizing the data. It also requires a proper change management strategy to get your people to leverage the new tools and processes in order to make more informed decisions.

Driving a Culture of Data-Driven Decision-Making

As technology continues to advance, the way we make decisions must also evolve. Companies need to begin to incorporate more data sources, better tools, and strategic frameworks to gain a leg up on their competition. The good news is that the technology is now mature enough for the masses, and there are more service providers emerging that understand the needs of midsize companies can help bridge the skill gap and guide organizations of all sizes through the process.

While midsize companies have been slow to adopt more advanced analytics solutions, it is our strong belief that organizations that embrace the fastest and most efficient means of analyzing data are poised to succeed. Those that get started today have a huge opportunity to leverage data as a fulcrum to launch themselves ahead in their respective industries.