N+K NetApp

Decision-making with data Research results for Netherlands

October 2012

Demographics

Within the Netherlands, 100 C-level business decision-makers in...

...a wide range of sectors (including the public sector)

Manufacturing

...organisations with over 250 employees

11% 25% 12%

Retail, distribution and transport Financial services

22%

19%

250 - 500 employees 501 - 1,000 employees 1,001 - 3,000 employees

13%
24% 15%

Public sector 28% 31%

IT and technology

More than 3,000 employees

Business and professional services

Four areas of interest: 1: 2: 3: 4: The The The The importance of decision-making importance of data to decision-making need to improve IT infrastructures impact of market maturity

1: The importance of decision-making

The need to make faster decisions is not being met

90%

95%

95%
65% 35% 5%

63%

25% ...a year ago ...three years ago ...five years ago

Greater NEED compared to...

Exactly the same speed as ever Decisions being MADE quicker compared to...

Figure 1: Analysis of percentage of decision-makers who say there is a need to make faster decisions against those who say that decisions are being made faster

Only 5% say there is no need to make faster decisions... ...yet 35% say that decisions are being made at the same speed as ever! Looking at each timespan, fewer companies are making quicker decisions than say that quicker decision-making is required. Clearly, there is a need to make quicker decisions that organisations are struggling to meet

Strategic decisions not made instantly are being made too slowly
Instantly
(No responses at this time range)

Only a minority of respondents say that decisions are always fast enough for their purposes The majority say that decisions are not always fast enough for purpose, regardless of how long they take Therefore, C-level decision-makers need to be making strategic decisions as soon as possible... ...yet the research shows that 0% make decisions instantly, with 74% taking longer than a day!

Within a few hours

11%

89%

Within a day 6%

53%

41%

Within a few days Within a week

31%

56%

13%

68%

26%

6%

Within a fortnight

14%

43%

43%

Within a month

50%

50%

More than a month

Yes, always

(No responses at this time range)

Most of the time

Some of the time

Rarely

Never

Figure 2: Analysis of whether decisions are made fast enough versus how quickly they are made

Slow decision-making has had significant consequences

We have lost revenues We have been seen as being 'late to the game' We have lost existing customers We have seen our share price fall We have had to make additional expenditure to try and catch up later on We have lost potential new customers We have suffered damage to our brand reputation We have lost ground to our competitors We have lost executives We have lost other staff

48% 45% 44% 35% 33% 32% 31% 26% 18% 14%

Figure 3: What have been the results of your organisation not always making these types of decision quickly enough in the past?

If decisions have been made too slowly in the past, C-level decision-makers point to multiple consequences an average of ~3 of these problems Significantly, the top answers show that, in the past, slow decisions have resulted in lost revenue, an impression of being behind other competitors and a loss of existing customers

Technological advances are the main reason why decisions need to be made quicker
Almost nine in ten C-level decision-makers say that technology is a reason why decisions need to be made quicker Technology might be able to assist quicker decision-making, but it is evidently the cause for this pressure being put on executives to make decisions faster than ever However, it is not the only reason. The majority also say that increased competition and an increasingly hostile business climate are also contributing
Recent advances in technology 88%

Increased competition

86%

An increasingly hostile business climate

71%

The increasing ease of working globally

37%

Figure 4: Why do you think that decisions need to be made more quickly than before?

2: The importance of data to decision-making

Data is critical to the decision-making process

Almost half of decision-makers appreciate that data is very valuable. 49% rate data as critical or very significantly important to the decision-making process No respondents reported that data from corporate sources is unimportant during the decision making process

4% 16%

Critical

13%

Very significantly important Significantly important Somewhat important Helpful, but unimportant

34%

33%

Unimportant

Figure 5: On average, how important is data from corporate sources to the decision-making process?

Data is more important to decision-making than instinct

50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Data Mostly data, but instinct is important too Data and instinct are equally important Mostly instinct, but data is important too Instinct

Figure 6: Which is more important during board-level decisions data or instinct?

When asked, two thirds of decision-makers rate data as more important than instinct Only 4% of executives say that decisions are all about or are mostly instinct, highlighting just how valuable data is to the decision-making process Given this, shouldnt all decisions be made having considered supporting data?

The majority of organisations have made strategic decisions without consulting data

Despite recognising the value of data to the decision-making process, only 26% have never made a decision without consulting supporting data 30% either always or often make decisions without consulting data! This appears to be a contradiction if data is so valuable to the process, why is it so often ignored?

2%
26% 28% Yes - always Yes - often

Yes - sometimes No - never

44%

Figure 7: Does your executive team ever make strategic decisions without consulting data?

Executives rarely have access to the right data in order to make decisions
Less than a quarter of senior decision-makers feel that their organisation lacks data that could be consulted when making strategic decisions... ...instead, more than three quarters feel that it is too slow to get the data they need to make decisions Almost six in ten say that it is difficult for them to access data and more than half say it is difficult to find the right data
Do they not have the right tools to support their decision-making?
Figure 8: Why does the executive team not always consult data when making business-critical decisions?

Too slow to access data

76%

Too difficult to find the right data

59%

Too difficult to access data

51%

We do not have enough data to consult

24%

Few C-level executives compile data themselves

1%
I access it directly

16%

1%

25%

One of my employees prepares it for me to analyse My office requests it from the relevant department My office requests it from the relevant department, and that department consults other departments Data engineers have to mine the data, before passing it back up the chain I don't know

27% 30%

Figure 9: When needing data for board-level decisions, typically how many stages does it go through before it reaches you?

A quarter of those interviewed say that they access data required to make decisions themselves The rest rely on subordinates to compile and look at the data on their behalf This means that, for most, the data is filtered before it reaches them, resulting in decisions not necessarily being made with the most relevant, most complete, or most accurate data for the task at hand

Few are satisfied with the data made available to them

No it arrives too slowly 43%

Just over a quarter of executives are totally satisfied with the data that they use to make decisions at present The rest have multiple concerns, primarily around the speed of delivery and the completeness and usefulness of the data Is the fact that so few access the data directly partly to blame for these problems?

No it is often incomplete No it does not contain what I need No it lacks detail or context

42%

33%

27%

No there is too much of it No the bulk of it is inappropriate for my needs

22%

20%

Yes, I am totally satisfied at present

26%

Figure 10: Are you satisfied that the right data is available to you in order to make decisions at present?

Data used for high-level decisions is rarely up-to-theminute

Only 7% of those interviewed report that the data they use for high-level decisions is instantly refreshed whenever accessed This means that the other 93%, to some extent, are using out-ofdate information to make strategic decisions 71% say that data is not updated even daily, meaning a potential severe lag between data and reality In short: existing systems are failing to provide executives with up-to-date, accurate, comprehensive, relevant data
It is instantly updated whenever I view it It is automatically updated hourly

7% 11% 10% 27% 18% 9% 5% 12% 1%

It is automatically updated daily

It is automatically updated several times a week It is automatically updated once a week It is automatically updated once a fortnight or less frequently Whenever I find the time to update it myself At regular intervals by a member of my team Whenever I request an update from one of my colleagues

Figure 11: How often is the data that you access as a board member and use to make high-level decisions 'refreshed' or updated?

3: The need to improve IT infrastructures

IT infrastructures are not supporting executive decisionmaking

12% 15% The infrastructure always supports our decisionmaking needs

The infrastructure usually supports our decisionmaking needs

The infrastructure occasionally supports our decisionmaking needs 30% 43% The infrastructure rarely supports our decision-making needs The infrastructure never supports our decision-making needs

Figure 12: Do you believe that your current IT infrastructure is agile and responsive enough to support fast decision-making at an executive level?

Only around one in six of executives feel that the IT infrastructure always supports their decision-making needs This means that for around five in six executives, their infrastructure must have let them down, either occasionally or frequently That so few reported being happy with their infrastructure reveals just how important it is at supporting decision-making, and just how poorly it is faring

Infrastructural problems are the most dominant problem preventing decision-making

When asked what barriers prevent decision-making, the responses given by the majority are the volume and complexity of data being held in their IT infrastructure Clearly, existing infrastructures are preventing executives from getting to the data that they need in order to make strategic decisions Also note all executives reported experiencing at least one of the barriers when making decisions in their organisation
The volume of data being held in our IT infrastructure

60%

The complexity of data being held in our IT infrastructure

60%

Data privacy issues

46%

Individual departments/business units commissioning their own cloud computing services Employees using their own devices, resulting in data being held on equipment we do not control Isolated IT systems that do not allow full insight into business metrics

42%

37%

26%

None of the above

0%

Figure 13: Do you consider any of the following to be barriers to executives being able to make decisions in your organisation?

Infrastructures are being upgraded to assist in decisionmaking

10%
18% Yes, we have already adopted new technology to help with this Yes, we have already adopted new technology and plan to adopt more to help with this 34% No, we plan to adopt new technology to help with this but we have not done so yet

38%
No, and we have no plans to adopt new technology to help us with this
Figure 14: Is your organisation adopting new technologies in order to help the board make decisions more quickly?

Nine in ten executives report that their organisations either have or plan to adopt new technologies in order to help them make decisions more quickly Almost four in ten have not only adopted new technologies but plan to adopt more
This implies that it is not a one-time upgrade for many its a continual, evolutionary process

The fact that so many companies are upgrading to help decision-making illustrates that existing infrastructures must be lacking

Organisations are also looking to improve data delivered to executives

As only 8% say there are no plans to improve the data delivered to senior decision-makers, more than nine in ten organisations are planning to make improvements in some way The top improvement concerns improving executives ability to analyse data, with the majority of executives currently struggling to analyse the data themselves Companies could be doing more though, as elsewhere in the research 63% report that there are improvements in data delivery they would like that the organisation is not delivering
There are plans to implement better tools for me to analyse data myself 56%

There are plans to deliver data more frequently

38%

There are plans to deliver more appropriate data There are plans to give me visibility into data that I cannot see at present There are plans to deliver greater volumes of data

26%

18%

18%

There are no plans to improve data delivered to me

8%

Figure 15: Is your organisation looking at improving the data that it delivers to you?

Multiple technologies are helping executives make decisions

Amongst those who said that their organisation is adopting new technologies to help them, executives selected an average of ~3 from this list
Organisations are adopting multiple technologies to aid strategic decision-making
Use of virtualisation, cloud, and 'asa-Service' offerings, freeing up our IT department to allow them to investigate new opportunities Investment in our IT infrastructure in order to make it more compatible with new technologies, and to scale faster and easier

63%

57%

Tools to mine our organisation's data for new insights

53%

Note that cloud and mobile working solutions score lower than data mining tools
Additional tools to sift through data are more valuable than the ability to work from anywhere

Technology that allows me to access the corporate digital network wherever I am

52%

Cloud computing solutions

41%

Social media platforms within the company for better collaboration and communication

29%

Figure 16: Which advances in technology is your organisation adopting in order to enable the board to make decisions more quickly than before?

New technologies have lead to significant benefits to the decision-making process

New technologies have reduced time 11% 34% 29% 27%

New technologies have led to more informed decisions

23%

54%

23%

Not at all

Slightly

Somewhat

Significantly

Very significantly

Figure 17: Analysis of how the adoptions of new technologies have reduced the time and increased how informed decisions are being made

Amongst those who have adopted new technologies to aid the decision-making process, 0% say that there has not been a reduction in time and 0% say they have not led to more informed decisions being made On the contrary, around half to three-quarters say that improvements to time and informity have been significant or very significant These new technologies are having a significant impact

Technology has resulted in multiple changes to the decision-making process

The impact of IT means that strategic decision-making has had to adapt. Respondents chose two of these factors, on average Note that the majority of highscoring factors are positive being better equipped, better access, routine mining for data etc... ...though 46% worry about technology creating a fear in the decision-making process... Only 11% say there has been no change in the process due to technology at all
The 'always connected' nature of the corporate IT infrastructure makes it easy for decisions to be actioned immediately There is a fear that slow decisions will mean our competitors will get significantly ahead of us We use iPads and/or other computing devices during meetings to consider data as it is discussed We are better equipped to work outside of the office, meaning decisions do not have to wait until a formal meeting The widespread acceptance of cloud computing means that we can access mission-critical information from anywhere We routinely mine our existing data to look for findings that might better inform decisions No technology has not caused any changes to the decision-making process

51%

46%

44%

39%

33%

24%

11%

Figure 18: Has technology caused any of the following changes in the board-level decision-making process?

4: The impact of market maturity

The research took place in nine countries: Five major European economies Four smaller economies (including the Netherlands)
200 interviews 200 interviews 200 interviews 200 interviews 200 interviews

100 interviews

100 interviews

100 interviews

100 interviews

UK

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

Israel

Switzerland

Austria

Throughout the survey results, the five major economies answered more positively and optimistically than the four smaller economies A few examples:

Technology is less central to the need to make quicker decisions...

UK France Germany Italy Spain 88% 76% 86% 11% 18% 6% 12% 2%

Decisions are less likely to be made quicker than before...

90%
80% 70%

81%
71% 45% 53% 43% 30%

2% 16% 2% 19% 10% 43% 34% 43% 12% 13% 14% 25%

Main reason or one of the main reasons It is a reason, but many others are more prominent It is not a reason why we need to make faster decisions at all

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

France Spain UK Italy Netherlands Switzerland Germany Austria Israel

...a year ago ...three years ago ...five years ago

Netherlands
Israel Switzerland Austria

44%

Figure 19: How central are recent advances in technology to the need to Figure 20: Do you make quicker decisions at present compared to... make decisions more quickly than before?

What is the likely reason for this?

Businesses in smaller economies are more likely to have infrastructures that let them down
80% 70%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

UK France Germany Italy Spain Netherlands Israel Switzerland Austria

Too slow to access data Too difficult to find the right data

Figure 21: Why does the executive team not always consult data when making business-critical decisions? selected responses

Between six in ten and three quarters of those in the Netherlands said that that their systems result in data being slow to access and difficult to find Compare this to the five larger economies, where the minority report problems with these to factors Evidently, the IT infrastructures of businesses in the Netherlands are not as agile as those in larger economies... ...and therefore, having a robust infrastructure results in quicker decisions being made

Businesses in smaller economies are freeing up their IT department to help address this problem
70% 60%
Cloud computing solutions

50%
40% 30% 20% 10%
Use of virtualisation, cloud, and 'as-aService' offerings, freeing up our IT department to allow them to investigate new opportunities

0%

UK

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

Israel

Switzerland

Austria

Figure 22: Which advances in technology is your organisation adopting in order to enable the board to make decisions more quickly than before? selected responses

In the four smaller economies, businesses are focusing on adopting technologies to free up the IT department to investigate new opportunities In the five bigger economies, most are adopting cloud instead Does this suggest a progression?
Its likely that few businesses in the bigger economies are adopting tech to free up their IT department because they have already done so in the past... ...and therefore, that cloud is the next step; that adoption is indicative being further along a technological timeline

N+K NetApp
Decision-making with data Research results for France

October 2012