Nine in ten firms using data analytics by 2020 - report

Most businesses will be using data analytics within just three years as they look to use data to get better business insights, according to a new report from Forrester.

The poll of 580 business and IT leaders from around the world found 90 per cent of firms will have formally adopted data by 2020, IT Pro reported.

Today, 40 per cent of companies are using data analytics, a figure which is set to rise to 70 per cent next year.

The report also revealed that some companies are wary about using data to make business decisions. 40 per cent said they were unsure how to interpret unstructured data and 35 per cent said they had concerns about “traditional siloed data practices”.

“The pace at which an organisation benefits from data analytics is determined as much by business issues as by technology," Ursula Morgenstern from Atos, which commissioned the study, said.

Asked about their priorities for next year, IT professionals said they wanted to improve IT’s relationship with the rest of their organisation and better-align the IT department with overall business goals.

25 per cent of firms said better use of big data and analytics in business decision-making was a crucial business priority.