BARC Study Reveals Top Challenges to Becoming a Data-Driven Enterprise

Alation Inc., the leader in enterprise data catalogs, today announced the results of a global study, Leverage Your Data, A Data Strategy Checklist for the Journey to the Data-Driven Enterprise, which found that while nearly every company wants to be data-driven, the lack of documentation and knowledge about data inhibits that goal. The study, sponsored by Alation and carried out by Business Application Research Center (BARC), reveals that a key enabler to becoming a data-driven enterprise is the implementation of a successful data catalog that drives active contribution and collaboration from the business user.

According to the study, 90% of respondents indicate that data has a high priority in enterprise decision-making yet only 25% state that decisions are predominantly or purely made based on data. Several roadblocks inhibit the business user from embracing data and therefore prevent organizations from becoming data-driven. Participants report a lack of information and documentation on data, insight into who is using what data and for what purpose, and inconsistent meanings and interpretations of data as blockers. They also cite that data access is too complicated and that significant time is wasted asking the same questions about data or repeating work, further preventing business users from making data-driven decisions.

To overcome these obstacles, the report says that enterprises need to foster a data culture that empowers the business users. The data catalog drives data democratization by providing widespread access to data and encouraging a collaborative information exchange where data users – from business users to data analysts – can engage in an iterative process that ensures data quality and the proper use of data. The catalog tackles the challenges associated with data documentation by providing a business glossary that facilitates cross-departmental access to approved data definitions, ensuring that the meaning and interpretations of key figures in the organization are consistent. By removing these hurdles and empowering business users with a collaborative platform, organizations are able to unlock the true value of their data. This is why 77% of respondents currently use or are planning to use a data catalog.

“The BARC study mirrors the challenges our customers experienced prior to using Alation. Organizations need a data catalog that enables search and discovery, provides the context on how to use the data, and fosters collaboration among data users,” said Satyen Sangani, CEO and co-founder of Alation. “Alation is the foundation for building a data culture and we’re seeing more enterprises leverage our data catalog to drive that cultural shift and derive more value from their data.”

For four consecutive years, Alation has been named the top-ranked data catalog in Dresner Advisory Services’ 2020 Wisdom of Crowds® Data Catalog Market Study. Alation has also been recognized as a leader in the Forrester Wave for Machine Learning Data Catalogs, a three-time leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Metadata Management Solutions, and selected as a Gartner Peer Insights Customer’s Choice for Metadata Management Solutions.

To download a copy of Leverage Your Data, a Data Strategy Checklist for the Journey to the Data-Driven Enterprise, click here.

To learn more about the study, register for the BARC Launch Party: How do Companies Find, Understand and use Trusted Data for Analytics? which is being held twice, once at 9am CEST and once at 5pm CEST on June 25, 2020.

To learn how customers use Alation for data governance, register for our upcoming webinar with Bob Seiner, author of Non-Invasive Data Governance, and Alation customer, Riot Games on July 7, 2020.

About Alation

Alation pioneered the data catalog market, leading the evolution of data management towards driving data culture. Alation customers leverage the data catalog as a platform for data search & discovery, data governance, data stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation. With its powerful Behavioral Analysis Engine, inbuilt collaboration capabilities, and open interfaces, Alation provides a platform to support a broad range of data intelligence solutions by combining machine learning with human insight to tackle the most demanding challenges in data management. Nearly 200 organizations are driving their data cultures and improving their organizations’ decision making with Alation, including AbbVie, DraftKings, Exelon, Finnair, Genentech, GoDaddy, Marks & Spencer, MercadoLibre, Munich Re, New Balance, New Relic, Pfizer, Scandinavian Airlines, Scout24 and US Foods. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Alation is funded by Costanoa Ventures, Data Collective Venture Capital, Icon Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures. For more information, visit alation.com.

About BARC

BARC (Business Application Research Center) is one of Europe’s leading analyst firms for business software, focusing on the areas of data, business intelligence (BI) and analytics, enterprise content management (ECM) and customer relationship management (CRM). The company was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the Chair of Business Administration and Information Systems at the Julius-Maximilians-University in Würzburg. Today, BARC combines empirical and theoretical research, technical expertise and practical experience, including a constant exchange with all market participants. For more information, visit: www.barc-research.com

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Contact information

Ashley Womack
Director, Public Relations, Alation
Ashley.Womack@alation.com