TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug 15, 2013) - Deloitte today announced the results of its Global Analytics Advantage survey, a study undertaken to better understand the state of analytics readiness of leading corporations - and what the future may hold.
The survey was conducted using more than 100 online surveys and 35 in-depth interviews with senior executives at companies in Canada, the US, the United Kingdom and China.
"Canada has been slower in its adoption and application of analytics compared to its global counterparts," said Jane Griffin, Managing Director, Deloitte Analytics. "However, there is reason to be optimistic as there is a strong appetite to embrace analytics, particularly in Canada's booming energy and resources industries."
Unlike the US where the natural early adopters tended to be internet-based companies, Canada's early adopters were banks that applied analytics to keep and expand their networks, and the public sector, that applied analytics on issues of compliance and efficiency.
Key findings from the global survey include:
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Marketing and customers - More than half of respondents (55 percent) recognize the influence analytics is having on their businesses as their marketing and sales groups invest in analytics, second only to finance operations.
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Structure is a challenge - The survey found that a number of c-suite executives are in charge of analytics within an organization. Twenty percent of the respondents surveyed said there was no single executive responsible for data and analytics. If there was an individual identified, it was most often the business unit leader (23 percent) or Chief Financial Officer (18 percent). This is leading to structural and communications challenges. Coordination and alignment is needed to realize the true value of analytics and internal discussions should take place to determine who owns the role.
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Key barriers to overcome - Forty-two percent of the organizations surveyed believe their employees do not have the required analytics skills. Organizations will be slow to fully capitalize on the potential of analytics unless they are able to overcome several key barriers; data management and access to talent are the most problematic. In addition, 31 percent of organizations believe the data they have is usable, but available only in functional, or process silos.
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Analytics will become more relevant - Ninety-six percent of respondents feel that analytics will become more important to their organizations in the next three years. At the same time nearly half (49 percent) of respondents assert that the greatest benefit of using analytics is that it is a key factor in better decision making capabilities.