Organizations identify DataOps as driver to improve data use

Recent research from TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group showed no slowdown in DataOps investments as IT grapples with increasing demand from end users in organizations looking for quality data insights. These insights empower faster and more accurate decision-making.

The research from May 2023, "State of DataOps: Unleashing the Power of Data", is a survey of 361 IT decision-makers that identifies trends in data management related technology use and purchasing habits. It also determines critical success factors for vendor products, establishes positioning and marketing messages for vendors, and monitors shifts in technology, as well as how the DataOps market continues to mature.

Organizations emphasize data-driven initiatives to build real-time platforms that empower better decision-making. Investment to support these initiatives is also increasing. In fact, 49% said they plan to extensively increase DataOps spending, with an additional 39% saying they will moderately increase spending. There has been a big shift in focus this year on AI and machine learning initiatives, data governance and data quality, which might be the driver behind spending increases.

Another possible driver of DataOps project spending is an increase in the use of data by employees in organizations. The survey found that 84% of organizations saw an increase in the number of end users accessing data this past year. This shows the new pressures put on IT to empower employees with the tools they need to effectively use data. These tools are vital to guarantee data quality, data trust and data governance. All are crucial considerations when building out an environment to support data-driven employees. The other key factor is the speed at which data insights are delivered, because data streaming is quickly becoming a critical consideration.

As more employees are empowered to use data, concerns over data quality increase. Eighty-eight percent of organizations indicate they can improve how they use data. This suggests the demand from end users in organizations is increasing quickly, but there are challenges in how data is being utilized. Tools for data observability, data quality and data governance might help solve some of these challenges. 

These are only three data points from an extensive research project. Each point reinforces the need for organizations to modernize their data platforms to extract value from data and empower business decision-makers with the right data insights at the right time, wrapped with data governance and complete trust in the data.

This is not easily achieved, but the market is maturing quickly. Vendors are taking once complicated processes, only available to organizations with massive budgets, down to a level that is more affordable for any organization and delivered as cloud services. This helps reduce the skills gap and operational costs and allows even smaller organizations to become more efficient and competitive.

Enterprise Strategy Group is a division of TechTarget. Its analysts have business relationships with technology vendors.