By Zuko Mdwaba, Area Vice President and Country Leader, Salesforce South Africa 

As companies navigate challenging market conditions and respond to rising interest rates and costs of doing business, the role data can play in driving strategic decisions is more important than ever. Yet having data doesn’t automatically ensure that businesses will make data-driven decisions.

A new Salesforce survey of nearly 10,000 business leaders worldwide shows that while 80% say data is critical in decision-making at their organisation, 41% cite a lack of understanding of data because it is too complex or not accessible enough.

Today every company needs to be a data-driven company. This isn’t an easy shift, however – not because they don’t have data, but because they have so much of it. With the right tools and training, business leaders and their teams can make better decisions, maximise efficiency and put their customer at the centre of everything.

Connecting data to make critical business decisions

With the quantity of data expected to double by 2026, turning size into value requires building a data-driven business culture - weaving data into the organisation’s operations, mindset, and identity.

According to Salesforce’s research more than two-thirds (67%) of business leaders are currently not using data to decide on pricing in line with economic conditions, such as inflation. In addition, only 17% of business leaders are using data to help guide their climate targets.

The first step organisations can take to building a data culture is expanding access to their data, making it available and open to the majority of employees, not just the IT or analyst teams. It’s important to invest in tools that allow them to use this data in a way that doesn’t disrupt their flow of work. This means, no more jumping applications, moving tabs, or switching programs. Seamless and easy access will help empower employees to make better decisions at every level of their organisation.

Insufficient data literacy skills is a persistent barrier to business leaders’ ability to put data into practice and to drive business results. A third (33%) of business leaders lack the ability to generate insights from data; almost one third (30%) say they're overwhelmed by too much data.

In addition to supporting business goals, a key part of establishing a data culture is enhancing organisational resilience. 

Maximising efficiency and putting the customer at the centre

When integrated and leveraged correctly, data and analytics enable companies to maximise their technology investments and uncover opportunities that drive business strategy and strengthen customer trust.

Companies can’t truly understand their customer if they don’t have all the relevant data and a single source of truth. 

By effectively harnessing the power of data science, machine learning, and real-time data integration, they can create seamless, connected, and hyper-personalised customer experiences that put the customer at the centre of everything they do.

Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) are making data less scary for today’s workforce and breaking down learning barriers. Infusing this intelligence in everyday applications allows us to understand the context around the data we see in front of us, and gives traditionally non-data people the confidence to make and act on informed decisions.

All of this investment in a data-driven culture adds up to decreased costs, increased productivity, and higher customer satisfaction, which are even more important as customers look to drive success in a challenging economic environment.