33% of finance leaders struggle with data utilisation amid recession fears
A Dun & Bradstreet report has highlighted challenges faced by leaders in finance sector organisations regarding the effective use of data.
The study, encompassing views from 437 leaders across 18 countries, finds that a notable third (33%) of these leaders struggle to leverage the data essential for strategic planning and risk assessment.
Further, the report reveals that over a third (36%) of finance sector leaders find it challenging to regularly assess the relevance of data within the business context. Similarly, 31% face difficulties in democratising data access among employees for enhanced decision-making. Another concern is data silos, with 26% of leaders acknowledging that it hampers their understanding of available data.
Despite these challenges, when data is effectively utilised, it leads to significant benefits. These include discovering new business opportunities (33%), increasing revenue (32%), and improving business decisions (31%).
Sara de la Torre, Head of Banking and Financial Services at Dun & Bradstreet, emphasises the contrast between new platform entrants and traditional financial institutions. Newcomers have integrated data and insights into their strategy from the start, fostering innovation. In contrast, traditional entities must adapt to new technologies to stay relevant and improve customer experiences.
The study also underlines the evolving approach of financial institutions towards regulatory pressures, financial risks, and challenges like cyber security, viewing them as opportunities for sustainable growth. Leaders recognise the crucial role of data in business resilience, with 75% viewing it as vital for financial planning, customer identification, and risk assessment.
Sara de la Torre said, “New platform entrants in the financial services industry have embedded data and insights into their strategy and operations from the very beginning – enabling them to drive innovation in the sector. For traditional incumbents, the only choice is to embrace the opportunity from new technologies to gain better insights, improve customer experience and stay current.”
Torre continues, “Data insights are crucial to creating new revenue streams for both traditional and digital players. It’s not just about targeting new customers, it’s a case of harnessing customer and market data in unique ways to enter new markets or provide value to those existing customers. With yet more talk of a recession being on the cards, finding new avenues to drive revenue and protect business’ fiscal pipeline against risks has never been more important – those that don’t understand how to get the most out of their data may not survive.”
