Data nightmare for UK, French, and German IT decision makers: exponential rise of data
A new research reveals a real data nightmare: the majority (52%) of IT decision makers (ITDMs) across UK, France, and Germany “fear” the exponential rise of data within their business, with concerns being raised regarding security, compliance, and operational risk. The growing competition and the uncertain economic conditions are increasing the demand for data-driven insights.
The data nightmare
The new data from Splunk, the cybersecurity and observability leader, which surveyed 1500 ITDMs (500 each in The UK, France and Germany) from companies of 250 employees or more, reveals that 94% have seen an increase in demand for data-driven insight within the last two years, with 23% having seen their data volumes double within the last three years, and 10% seeing it triple or more.
The survey results
The research revealed that while ITDMs are under pressure to ‘increase productivity’ (42%) and ‘increase the speed and quality of innovation’ (37%) through data-driven insights, 63% of those surveyed agree with the statement ‘Data Overload could make my business operationally less effective’.
Plus, 48% of ITDMs believe that, over the last three years, the unmanageability of their data has hindered their business’ ability to gain operational insight. And a further 50% believe this problem will continue over the next three years.
Board-level demand for data-driven insight across UK, French, and German enterprises has primarily been driven by a desire to stay ahead in ‘a more competitive marketplace’ (57%); ‘economic uncertainty’ (51%); and ‘a more challenging operating environment’ (53%) with growth in cyberthreats, supply chain disruption, and increased regulation all playing a role.
It’s no surprise then that data driven insights (for operations and business performance) represent a ‘very high priority’ for 68% of ITDMs. But while data plays a vital role in informing decision makers, with more data comes more problems.
Data nightmare: a paradox
Speaking on the new data research Petra Jenner, GM & SVP EMEA at Splunk said: “Data is the backbone of today’s digital business models, yet many companies face a paradox: they want to be data-driven but struggle with overload and poor data quality. On average ITDMs estimate they can only derive insight from just over 54% of the data that they hold, and 79% believe ‘bad’ data represents a risk to their business.”
These perceived threats can come in many forms. For example 60% of ITDMs are concerned about their company facing fines in the future due to non-compliance in regards to data they hold. This is especially important when it comes to the desire to gain a competitive edge, which 74% of ITDMs believe compliant data will help them achieve.
Similarly, 79% believe their ability to extract meaningful insights from data is critical to detecting and responding to cybersecurity threats, but 68% also believe the amount of data their company holds has posed an increasing security risk in itself over the last three years.
Petra also commented: “Digital resilience starts and ends with good data. Without visibility and control over their data, organisations risk non-compliance, security gaps, and could fall behind the competition.”
“Ultimately, a desire for more data-driven insights doesn’t come without its costs. As businesses onboard more and more insights, only those who treat data governance, quality, and compliance as strategic imperatives will come out on top. Only they will have the clarity and confidence to innovate with confidence and gain a critical edge everyone wants.”
Methodology
This online survey of 1500 IT decision-makers across UK, France and Germany (500 each) from companies with over 250 employees was commissioned by Splunk (a Cisco company) and conducted by market research company OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. Data was collected between April 17 and 28, 2025. All participants are double-opted in to take part in research and are paid an amount depending on the length and complexity of the survey. This survey was overseen and edited by the OnePoll research team. OnePoll are MRS Company Partners, corporate membership of ESOMAR and Members of the British Polling Council.
