According to new research by data center company Digital Realty, nearly half (47%) of CIOs are concerned about their company's investment in data systems. There is a lack of investments in tools and infrastructure needed to process the growing amount of data by large companies around the world. This problem will only get worse as the amount of data grows exponentially and the Data Gravity effect intensifies.

Over half of respondents (53%) say data systems and infrastructure underinvestment is a major obstacle to gaining valuable insights from data. Additionally, half of respondents cite a lack of adequate investments in relevant analysis tools.

For many companies, a lack of data analytics tools can be a barrier to growth, since gaining actionable insights from data depends on collecting and verifying it efficiently. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of IT leaders confirm that their companies must improve their infrastructure over the next two years in order to enable more valuable, data-driven insights. In North America, 80 percent of respondents believe improving data infrastructure is critical, compared to 69 percent of respondents in Asia. In this case, Europe is comparable to North America, where 71 percent of respondents said the data infrastructure needs to be improved.

Over the next few years, IT leaders expect investments in data tools, infrastructure, and processes to grow only slightly. Most funds will likely go toward improving customer experience using data.

Photo credit: Stephen Dawson