SAP Survey Finds 1/3 of Firms Use Data in Making Decisions; James Fisher Comments

A global survey commissioned by SAP indicates that one-third of companies across different sectors use data to track market trends and identify new business prospects.

SAP polled 743 business and information technology professionals worldwide and nearly 50 percent said that data is valuable for their companies’ decision-making process, SAP said Monday.

“The best performing companies leverage the power of collective insight by collaborating across the enterprise and using trusted data-discovery tools to nurture an information culture,” said James Fisher, SAP vice president of product marketing, analytics and mobile solutions.

Researchers also found that 58 percent of respondents said their organizations rely on experience or gut feel when making certain business decisions.

Seventy-eight percent believe that companies could unlock the value of information through collaborative decision-making and turn data into a competitive advantage , according to SAP.

SAP says its data visualization software and predictive analytics products are designed to help enterprises leverage information to gain collective insights.