Unleash Innovation, Transform Uncertainty – 3 Lessons from the Gartner Data and Analytics Summit

By James Corcoran, SVP Customer Value, KX

The role of data and analytics in helping business leaders achieve their goals amidst constant change was front and centre at the Gartner Data and Analytics Summit in London in early May. Centred around the theme of ‘Unleash Innovation, Transform Uncertainty’, there was plenty to take away from the event. I’ve identified three key themes that particularly resonated with the KX team and our customers:

Data; The key to business value

In the opening keynote, ‘Unleash Innovation, Transform Uncertainty’ Alys Woodward, Sr. Director Analyst, Gartner and Erick Brethenoux, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner stressed the need for faster, better decision making in the new data-driven world. It’s no longer enough for companies to rely on business intelligence derived solely from historic (big) data. That insight must be combined with, even supplanted, by data created in-the-moment. The concept of timing, stressed Erick, being key to better decision making and accelerating business value.

It’s something we captured in our latest research report, ‘Speed to Business Value’. Launched on day one of the summit, the key findings echo that of Alys and Erick’s point, with 80% of companies reporting a lift in revenue after deploying real-time analytics technologies. From process improvements to cost reductions and tangible impact on business revenues, the benefits are wide-reaching.

The future of analytics: cloudy with a chance of innovation

It’s no surprise that ‘Cloud Computing’ made its way into the headline of various tracks. As Adam Ronthal, Research VP, Gartner ITL Data & Analytics Group highlighted in one of his keynotes, ‘The Foundation of Data and Analytics is Cloud’. What was once a ‘nice to have’ is now a competitive edge for companies looking to adopt a data-driven culture built on real-time analytics. The cloud model also encourages companies to prioritize speed, innovation, and agility.

Whilst legacy systems were built to manage and process vast amounts of data, they lack the speed, scale, and reliability to react to time-sensitive opportunities. Generally agreed amongst panellists and participants was that cloud-native solutions – when used effectively – can allow for the convergence of previously disparate data silos.

This was something Nathan Sykes, IT Business Systems and Data Science Director, BWT Alpine F1 Team, echoed during our keynote session. For the team, having access to KX Insights (our cloud-first real-time streaming analytics platform) provides a single point of access to data across the entire organization, regardless of system, format or location.

Indeed, the always-on, infinitely scalable, and flexible nature of cloud computing offers an ideal platform for organizations looking to democratize access to their data.

Good data, bad data

Whilst having real-time analytics technologies and cloud computing software in place will inevitably accelerate speed to business value, it’s worth nothing if the data your processing is of no sustenance. According to research from Gartner, poor data quality can cost companies more than 6.25% of annual revenue globally. In his keynote, Jason Medd, Director Analyst, Gartner reinforced this message outlining key steps organisations can take to ensure data quality. Key considerations included establishing data quality standards for critical and commonly-shared data elements across the enterprise and having a holistic view of data governance requirements across various business operations.

Once data quality has been assured, businesses can transform business operations through real-time analytics software in the cloud. With a potential $2.6 trillion total revenue uplift already realized across four key industries (KX, 2022), the case for increased investment in real-time analytics is key if organisations are to continue to ‘unleash innovation’ and ‘transform uncertainty’.

Download a copy of the ‘Speed to Business Value’ Report here.

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