Technology consultancy esynergy has released the findings of new research, which has found that 95% of organisations in the UK and US say they have issues with their data.

The new report, based on a survey of over 700 business and technology leaders across the UK and the US, has found that the majority of organisations do not have robust data governance in place, leading to ineffective data usage and missed growth opportunities.

It reports that nearly half (45%) of organisations consider their data governance ineffective, a datapoint that is even higher in the financial services (53%) and insurance (50%) sectors. This is worrying senior technology leaders, with 45% of CIOs reporting that data is not being used effectively. Exactly half (50%) say that the objectives of data governance are not clear.

The rise of e-commerce, transformed business processes and personalisation has given organisations unparallelled freedom to tap into varied and rich data sources. This has led to increased data levels, but often with no increase in insight and business performance. Without good data governance, there is a risk of continuing to increase data levels yet having reduced insight.

Sixty percent of organisations report that their data governance policy does not align with their business strategy. Organisations without robust data governance are finding that their data is outdated, leading to poor decision-making that does not reflect what is really happening in their marketplace.

By taking a proactive approach and implementing a data governance framework, organisations can expect to benefit from data consistency, reliability, and security, empowering informed decisions and sustainable growth.

“Our research underscores that high data quality is the cornerstone of success,” says Prasad Prabhakaran, head of AI at esynergy.

He adds: “Accurate, reliable data enhances decision-making, fosters trust, and unlocks the full potential of data-driven insights, ultimately driving revenue and competitive advantage. By aligning data governance with business strategy, companies can unlock the full potential of their data assets.”

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Organisations are also hopeful for AI to help solve data woes, with 63% of CIOs reporting that they ‘are confident of AI improving data usage’. However, concerningly, less than half (48%) believe that data quality ensures the success of AI models.

For organisations to fully realise the promise of AI, governance, quality and control of data is paramount, particularly as new regulations such as the EU AI act come into force.