Business sped up. Organizations across every industry vertical are now compelled to operate ERP systems that are capable of running at always-on on-demand real-time speeds, far in advance of the overnight “batch build” database workloads of pre-millennial times.
What all that means for ERP systems of record (and indeed systems of transactional processing) that they need to now become speedier systems of streamed record (SSoSR is by no means a de facto acronym right now, but it could be one day) that work at a magnitude faster than their predecessors.
Get over gut feel
Data streaming platform technology company Confluent says that as the speed of decisions increases, new research shows half of C-level executives are still relying on ‘gut feel’ due to a lack of real-time data.
Almost nine out of 10 business leaders (86%) must now make decisions faster than ever before – and that statement is according to the new ‘Quick Thinking’ report from the company, which examines how UK business leaders make decisions using data.
The report, which calls on data from 200 CEOs, MDs and C-level executives, suggests that 57% have less time to make important decisions, with nine out of ten (90%) saying they must now make decisions “in real time”.
Snap decisions
Faced with this quick-fire decision-making, many leaders don’t have time to analyze the data provided, instead turning to intuition and ‘gut feel’. Three in five business leaders (61%) frequently make ‘snap decisions’ without reviewing the available data, while more than half (58%) say they rely on gut feel because it’s too difficult to access insights in real-time.
Confluent’s report also highlights the key areas where business leaders are being forced to ‘go with their gut’ due to a lack of real-time data:
- People management (73%)*
- Expanding the workforce (56%)
- Market expansion (53%)
- New products (52%)
- Budgets and investments (45%)
- New processes and technologies (42%)
*Percentage of business leaders who use ‘gut feel’ during decisions
Despite this high reliance on intuition, the report shows most leaders would rather inform their decisions with data. Of those surveyed, 84% want to make more decisions based on accurate data, while 85% believe they would make better decisions if real-time data was available.
To address this issue, today’s business leaders are adopting new real-time data practices and technologies. Nearly all of those surveyed (97%) are investing in, or have plans to invest in, “real-time dashboards” to provide more visibility.
Essential streams
Some 77% are now investing in data streaming to aid their decision-making in 2024, while 96% feel real-time data streaming will be an “important” part “essential” of their organisation’s decision-making strategy in the year ahead. Of those leaders who have already invested in data streaming technology, the majority say it is already improving their senior decision-making abilities.
Commenting on these findings, Richard Timperlake, SVP of EMEA, Confluent, said, “Across the UK, businesses are having to choose between fast decisions and informed decisions. That shouldn’t be the case. Today’s leaders and CEOs need to know that they can access a full, accurate picture of their organisations in real-time. The move to data streaming is an essential part of that shift.”
“Already, data streaming technology powers more than 80% of Fortune 100 companies. How data is processed and distributed is no longer just a technical or IT issue, it’s a business-wide decision that can impact everything from profitability to the customer experience. Conducting this study, it’s been fantastic to see so many C-level executives recognising the potential of this technology and pushing for its adoption. If businesses are going to move in real-time, data should too.”
To find out more about real-time data and business decision-making, download the Confluent report here.
