The Gartner Data & Analytics Summit in Orlando, Florida, recently concluded after three intense days filled with deep discussions and insightful revelations!
In the current era, data and analytics (D&A) are crucial in shaping our work processes. The Summit serves as a key meeting point for chief data analytics officers (CDAOs) and D&A leaders.
At the Summit, we surveyed over 600 data leaders to delve into their views and priorities for 2024. They shared their enthusiasm, visions for the future of D&A, strategies for adopting Generative AI (GenAI), and much more. Here’s a summary of our findings.
Data Governance is a Top Priority for 65% of Data Leaders
Over 65% of data leaders highlighted data governance as their main focus in 2024, followed by data quality (47%), AI (44%), self-service analytics (32%), and DataOps (19%).
This shift towards prioritizing governance and quality could reflect the ongoing challenges faced in self-service models. Effective governance promotes data-driven decisions, enhances efficiency, and fosters trust through transparency.
Data Leaders are Most Excited About the Possibilities of Generative AI
A notable 54% of data leaders expressed excitement about the prospects of generative AI for 2024. This enthusiasm is indicative of a broader trend in the D&A community, where the potential for generative AI to revolutionize business models, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation is becoming increasingly recognized.
They also showed interest in data mesh and fabric (30%), active metadata (25%), and data observability (24%), with data contracts gaining minimal excitement (5%).
Delivering on the Promise of Generative AI
While the enthusiasm for generative AI is evident, the survey highlights several challenges that organizations face in harnessing their full potential. 47% of data leaders are researching suitable technologies and potential uses for generative AI.
The lack of clarity on business impact suggests a need for more concrete examples and success stories that demonstrate the value generative AI can bring to different industries.
Only 30% have initiated early proof-of-concept projects to demonstrate the technology’s potential, and a mere 14% are actively incorporating generative AI into production. About 7% indicated that generative AI usage is currently banned in their organizations.
Identifying Gaps in Generative AI Strategy
Interest in generative AI is on the rise, but over 27% of data leaders are still figuring out its business impact. Around 20% lack the skilled personnel for developing and deploying GenAI solutions, highlighting the need for training and internal capability enhancement.
Additionally, 17% of leaders report inadequate or low-quality data, and over 13% lack the necessary technology for GenAI projects.
56% of Data Leaders Boost Their Budgets in 2024
With 56% of data leaders reporting an increase in their D&A budgets for 2024, there is a clear indication of the growing importance placed on data and analytics within organizational strategies.
Only 8% of data leaders reported budget cuts and 35% reported that they’re maintaining their budget levels.
Only 11% of Data Leaders Connect Team ROI to Business Outcomes
Our survey indicates that most respondents are in the initial stages of defining data team ROI, with over 50% lacking a formal approach to tracking value and ROI.
About 27% of data leaders track operational KPIs (like request fulfillment rates, developer hours, or time to ticket resolution).
Meanwhile, only 11% have established both quantitative and qualitative success metrics linked to business outcomes, ensuring clear communication with stakeholders.
The findings underscore a significant opportunity for D&A functions to better demonstrate their value by connecting D&A efforts more closely with strategic business objectives, ensuring that data initiatives drive tangible business results.
Conclusion
The insights from the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit survey provide a valuable snapshot of the current state and future direction of the D&A field. As data and analytics leaders look to 2024 and beyond, the challenges and opportunities outlined in the survey offer a roadmap for navigating the complex landscape of data-driven transformation.
Data leaders are focused on tying D&A initiatives to business outcomes, gaining traction with their D&A governance effort, and preparing their organization’s data for Gen AI use cases. All of these rely on a foundation of activated metadata to enhance collaboration between data producers and data consumers. To learn more about how active metadata unlocks these efforts, book a demo.
Following up on this survey, we’re organizing a webinar titled Key Takeaways from the Gartner Data and Analytics Summit 2024, hosted by Austin Kronz, Director of Data Strategy at Atlan (and former Gartner Analyst). If you’re interested in diving deeper and joining the discussion, sign up here.