93% of IT Decision Makers Agree Embracing Data Storytelling is the Secret to Boosting Revenue

Exasol, the high-performance analytics database, today announced new findings from an independent survey that reveals modern organizations should be using data storytelling to drive revenue. It is also a crucial skill for scaling data democratization and reaping the full benefits of a data-driven culture. According to the findings, an overwhelming 93% of decision-makers say that successfully leveraging data storytelling helps increase revenue.

But it seems that organizations aren't there yet. The research indicates that most organizations (82%) regularly use dashboards to communicate insights. This is despite some flaws that render dashboards ineffective for certain purposes. Sixty-one percent of respondents cited lack of context as the biggest problem with dashboards, and more than half (53%) agreed that dashboards are often disregarded because of the time it takes to interpret them.

"This research illustrates the business value that comes from being able to effectively communicate data insights to everyone within an organization ? not just data or IT professionals," said Peter Jackson, chief data and analytics officer at Exasol. "Today's diverse workforce and dynamic digital world require data-driven organizations. Many people within a business don't have the skill or the time to interpret complex dashboards. That's where data storytelling skills make a difference ? data storytelling helps communicate insights to everyone, regardless of where they fall on the data literacy spectrum."

Key findings from the survey illustrate the importance of data democratization and the power of data storytelling, including:

• Data storytelling is a universal business language ? Data storytelling goes beyond sharing the ?what' by also communicating the ?why.' Nearly all (92%) respondents agree that data storytelling is an effective way of communicating or delivering data and analytics results, and nearly three in four executives (71%) say data storytelling skills are very important when reporting results to the C-suite or other key business stakeholders.
• Data is everyone's business, but not everyone can interpret data dashboards ? Nearly all (90%) business leaders agree that achieving data democratization is a priority for their business and say they are taking the necessary steps to achieve it. Yet 82% of organizations continue to use dashboards, a legacy approach to analyzing data that has proven to bear major challenges and insufficient outcomes. Over half (54%) of business leaders and data professionals say a downside to dashboards is trying to communicate too much, which is not surprising considering that 46% say the inability to tailor dashboards to each executive is an additional drawback.
• Data storytelling creates data-driven organizations ? Eighty-seven percent of respondents say their organization's leadership team would make more data-driven decisions if insights were presented in a simpler and more easily-understood way. Almost all (93%) of the business leaders and data professionals surveyed agree that decisions made as a result of successful data storytelling have the potential to help increase revenue.

The report titled "From the ?what' to the ?why': How data storytelling is key to success" is based on a survey of 500 decision makers from enterprises located in the U.S. with more than 1,000 employees.

The survey results emphasize the need for a more effective way to communicate data insights with people across positions and experience levels, but especially the C-suite and other key stakeholders since they are regularly making strategic business decisions. The majority (82%) of respondents are familiar with data storytelling and widely recognize it as an effective way to drive business success.

"Organizations that unleash the full power of data and analytics through data storytelling will have access to actionable data insights that will help them tackle complex problems and help drive the overall business forward," explained Jackson.

To view the full report, "From the ?what' to the ?why': How data storytelling is key to success," visit: https://www.exasol.com/resource/from-the-what-to-the-why-how-data-storytelling-is-key-to-success/

Learn how you can equip yourself with the tools necessary to unlock the benefits of data storytelling here: www.exasol.com/product-overview/#bi-acceleration

About Exasol

Exasol is the world's fastest analytics database, trusted by the world's most ambitious organizations. Built for speed and flexibility, it can analyze billions of rows in seconds and run high-performance analytics securely ? whether in the cloud or on-premises. Need to scale your analytics function? Simple pricing makes it easy. Want to deliver frictionless insights? Automatic self-indexing tunes performance for optimal results. And you don't have to wait ? Exasol fits into any data environment, so you can get started right away.

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