Conclusion: The leadership considerations ahead

This report has made the case that most companies are now realising that the era of data could prove just as significant as the shift to internet-enabled business. A growing proportion recognises the transformational power of data for their business, although this group also admits to being humble about the learning curve ahead.

This is right: relatively few have fully grasped the power of data and how to truly take advantage of it. Many of the high-profile examples of data use so far have largely focused on optimising existing processes, and are yet to use data for strategic transformations. But as the latter starts to come into the frame, it will by definition be harder to get right. In turn, it is becoming clear that there are several distinct organisational and leadership issues for CEOs and their C-suite peers to consider.

First, as with any strategic initiative, making the most use of data requires leadership from the top. This involves not only a commitment to invest in the necessary systems and skills, but also to demonstrate that these are being taken seriously at an executive level. "We've got to go back to first principles of making sure we've got absolute clarity across the leadership team, as we build this out," insists Coutts' Ged Brannan. At one level, this brings a need to consider how best to overcome organisational silos and departmental fiefdoms that often jam up the flow of data within a business.

Second, as data initiatives do start to become more powerful, there will likely need to be an evolution in how senior decision-making is handled. Whether this involves a shift to more collaborative and multi-functional teams considering decisions, or other shifts, it is clear that work remains to be done to adapt 20th-century management techniques to the data-era. In particular, organisations will need to find more effective means of making strategic decisions, with new tools to aggregate the information they have to hand. "There will be some fundamental changes," says Mr Brannan. "Our executive committee will have richer data available to them and they will, therefore, be able to make more informed decisions."

Third, businesses should be aware that there are major questions yet to be fully resolved about how data initiatives are structured and managed internally. While in many instances, it is the CIO who instinctively will be given the lead on this, this research has highlighted that those firms that do best on extracting insights have often looked to their CEO, or other leaders with clout internally, to take the lead. "This tends to be structured differently, and it should be. You need someone who has oversight responsibility at that very high level to shepherd it through and act on it and care about it," argues The Economist's Mr Cukier. Professor Neely agrees: "The technological infrastructure is there, but the organisational infrastructure is often not."

Fourth, for those companies making the shift from the tactical to the strategic use of data, there will be a need for management flexibility and open-mindedness as to the new possibilities emerging. The shift also requires CEOs to have the courage to take the leap towards the unexplored. "It's very difficult for boards to want to consider fundamentally changing the business model," says Aimia's Mr Johnston. "So much management time is dedicated to short-term performance targets and cash management and so on, that it's difficult to make a leap like this," he says. But as the value of data becomes more apparent, the need for this shift will become even more apparent. As one executive interviewed for this report has argued, some companies should even seek to explicitly value their data in order to more clearly represent it as the asset it is.

Indeed, as Jason Trost, the CEO of Smarkets, an online betting platform, argues: "For companies to stay competitive, they need to rearrange their structures so that they can pivot their business model, pivot their brand, pivot their products. That's the crucial thing business leaders should be looking at."