NetApp – get that data fast and usable

NetApp – get that data fast and usable

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

17931671_s On a daily basis NetApp proves that the findings of a survey conducted last year are even more valid, that fast, available data is essential to any sort of organization.

Israel is known for being a “start-up nation”, where business leaders are willing to explore new ventures and ideas based only on a hunch, and in contrast to market trends and data. But against popular belief, a new study sponsored by NetApp shows that all of C-Level business leaders in Israel based their decisions in some part on existing data.

The survey which included 100 senior managers from large companies in Israel shows that 36 % say that data, not instinct, is more important to the process of making strategic decisions. In addition, 39 % say that data is more important, but that instinct is necessary too. 5 % however think that instinct is more important, but none of the responses showed a reliance on instinct alone. The research was done by Vanson Bourne, an independent research company.

i-HLS Israel Homeland Security

Although all the companies surveyed recognize that data is very important to decision-making, there is a great contrast between thoughts and actions. When asked if they made any strategic decision without consulting data, 22 % admit they always or often made decisions without data.  Others value the importance of data, and 44 % never make decisions without consulting it.

The reason for not relying on data is mostly because of the IT infrastructure. 79 % believe that their infrastructure lets them down either occasionally or frequently, in their decision making needs.

Speed is also crucial to managers: 98 % want to be able to make decisions faster, compared to five years ago. But despite this, only 75 % are making decisions faster than they were five years ago, clearly showing that although there is an intention to make decisions faster, it is still a slow process in almost every organization.

“Looking to the future, the speed of business will continue to accelerate, and companies that can’t keep up will lose out. Without agile, easy to access data, business leaders are at risk of making ill-informed evaluations based on irrelevant data, or simply being too slow to make effective decisions.” Said Guy Rachamim Israel Director of Technologies at  NetApp Israel

A slow decision making process takes a direct negative hit on a business. 48% of the responses claimed that they were “late to the game” due to slow decision making. 41% claimed they lost revenues. 36% had their share price fall, and 34% lost existing customers. 25% admit to a direct hit to their brand and others lost staff or executives.

Almost 9 out of 10 of the decision makers say that technology is the reason they need to make their decision faster, a greater factor than increased competition or the hostile business climate.

One of the major problems the survey illuminated is that only 30 % of the managers have direct access to the data that is relevant to their decision making. Others have to rely on employees or different departments to get the data, therefore risking that the data might be filtered or analyzed before it reaches them. This may partly explain why 92 % say they are using out-of-date data to make strategic decisions.

i-HLS Israel Homeland Security

“The industry is aware that it is vital that this situation be addressed. Over nine in ten of those surveyed have plans to improve the data delivered to them, making it more applicable, delivered more frequently and easier to analyze. At NetApp, we are striving to assist our customers to become ever more dynamic with their data,” said Rachamim.