Poor access to data is forcing bosses to turn to gut-feel

Almost nine out of ten business leaders say they must now make decisions faster than ever before yet many simply do not have the time or resources to do so and are forced to turn to intuition and gut-feel instead.

That is according to a new ‘Quick Thinking’ report from data streaming firm Confluent, which examines how UK business leaders make decisions using data.

The report, which analyses data from 200 CEOs, MDs and C-level executives, reveals 57% have less time to make important decisions, with nine out of ten (90%) saying they must now make decisions “in real-time”.

But faced with this quick-fire decision making, three in five business leaders (61%) frequently make “snap decisions” without reviewing the available data, while more than half (58%) say they rely on gut feel because it is too difficult to access insights in real-time.

The top issues where these time constraints are most pressing are in people management (73%); expanding the workforce (56%); market expansion (53%); new products (52%); budgets and investments (45%) and new processes and technologies (42%).

Despite this high reliance on intuition, the report shows most leaders would rather inform their decisions with data. Of those surveyed, 84% want to make more decisions based on accurate data, while 85% believe they would make better decisions if real-time data was available.

But this are changing, albeit not in real-time, and to address this issue, today’s business leaders are beginning to adopt new real-time data practices and technologies. Nearly all of those surveyed (97%) are investing in, or have plans to invest in, “real-time dashboards” to provide more visibility.

Some 77% also plan to invest in data streaming to aid their decision-making, while 96% feel real-time data streaming will be an “important” or “essential” part of their organisation’s decision-making strategy in the year ahead.

And of those leaders who have already invested in data streaming technology, the majority say it is already improving their senior decision-making abilities.

Confluent senior vice-president of EMEA Richard Timperlake said, “Across the UK, businesses are having to choose between fast decisions and informed decisions. That shouldn’t be the case. Today’s leaders and CEOs need to know that they can access a full, accurate picture of their organisations in real-time. The move to data streaming is an essential part of that shift.

“Already, data streaming technology powers more than 80% of Fortune 100 companies. How data is processed and distributed is no longer just a technical issue, it’s a business-wide decision that can impact everything from profitability to the customer experience.

“Many C-level executives are recognising the potential of this technology and pushing for its adoption. If businesses are going to move in real-time, data should too.”