Firms hurtling towards data black hole as literacy falters

AI tools might now be as common as the day is long but progress is being stunted by an age-old problem, with most tech bosses (58%) admitting their staff are completely illiterate over how to use business and customer information, fuelling fears of a “data black hole”.

So says the 2025/26 Data Maturity Index from global data consultancy Carruthers & Jackson, part of the Praesto Group, which reveals that most organisations exist in something of a mid‑maturity data plateau, characterised by pockets of progress alongside worrying areas of stagnation.

The annual poll of over 100 global data leaders highlighted the proliferation of AI tools. Some 40% said AI is now being used by a high number of employees, either across their whole organisation or in certain departments (up from 21% in 2024). For the first time, no respondents said that AI is not being used at all.

However, despite this increase in AI use and dependency, there is no progress being made in bridging the gap on data literacy. Nearly three-fifths of data leaders reported that most of their employees are not data literate, and a further 3% said almost no employees are data literate in their organisation.

When asked about the obstacles to achieving better data literacy, the most cited topics were a perceived lack of leadership buy-in, a lack of time and resources, deep-rooted cultural resistance, and poor access to appropriate training.

Carruthers & Jackson co-founder and chief executive Caroline Carruthers said: “There is an urgent need to invest in people to unlock the true potential and value of data and these AI tools.

“Organisations appear to be embracing tools and technology to help leverage the power of data but unlocking the transformational potential needs to be considered through a more human lens.”

In other report findings, 28% of responding organisations said they still have no data strategy. There was also a clear trend towards more of a department-specific approach to data governance and frameworks, with 42% of data leaders saying they have adopted multiple different approaches across their organisation.

Meanwhile, 36% said there is still little or no data governance framework in their organisation. Though the marginal year-on-year decrease (39% in 2024, 41% in 2023) points towards greater maturity, there remains a large proportion of organisations operating without a framework.

Carruthers added: “Organisations like this could soon find themselves stuck in something of a data ‘black hole’ in which they are unable to maximise the potential of their data while being exposed to significant risks.

“As we see a continued trend for organisations having multiple governance approaches and frameworks, it may make it even more difficult to develop and maintain a cross-business strategy and navigate out of this sticky situation.”

Carruthers reckons this will become even more stark as we enter the ‘second coming’ of data. Whereas major discussions about organisational approaches to data were once shaped by GDPR, now we are seeing strategic conversations that are less about ‘how to be compliant’, rather, they are centred around more purpose-driven topics. Where do we want to go with our data? Why? For whom? And to what end?

She concluded: “Organisations that want to convert AI into value must stabilise their data foundations: fix quality and integration gaps, make governance practical and lightweight, and invest in role‑specific literacy and operating models that embed analytics into decision workflows. Without those steps, organisations will continue to live on the mid-maturity plateau, if not slip backwards.”