New research by Cloudera has revealed that compliance is the leading concern for 79% of IT decision makers (ITDMs) when tackling data management. This significant concern arises as two-thirds (66%) of ITDMs share fears about data spiralling out of control within their organisations.

The study, which assessed the views of 850 IT decision makers in the EMEA region, discovered that a significant proportion of the apprehension about compliance is born out of the use of point solutions for data management and analytics. These solutions not only increase complexity but also drive up the cost of data.

Cloudera's report finds that 63% of ITDMs believe that siloed data complicates their organisation's ability to abide by data compliance regulations. Furthermore, 79% of ITDMs pointed out that integrating point solutions for data analytics and management has exacerbated their compliance challenges.

The research also highlighted that point solutions for data analytics and management are inflating the cost of data for many companies. With the initial costs of tools amplified by the need to train staff on their use, around three-quarters (78%) agreed this approach is bumped up costs. A collective term for this additional burden is 'integration tax'.

EMEA Field CTO at Cloudera, Chris Royles, commented on the findings, saying: "As data continues to increase in volume, compliance remains a considerable challenge for many. Innovations like AI will add further complexity, and with new regulations on the horizon, remaining compliant will only become more difficult. Organisations must think of data as a product and protect their greatest asset by ensuring compliance is always-on and everywhere."

True to this complexity, almost all (99%) agreed that integrating different point solutions needed for managing data in its lifecycle is problematic, with a third (34%) finding it a significant challenge. This has led to organisations spending more than a quarter (28%) of their annual IT budget on managing data in its lifecycle.

Chris Royles added, "To effectively perform their roles, engineers need access to data from across the organisation and the ability to self-service. But with the volume of tools currently deployed to manage data throughout its lifecycle, this isn't possible. Each tool requires its own specific skill set, costing time and money to learn. In light of these challenges, organisations must modernise their data architectures and end their dependence on point solutions as data demands increase. This will help to mitigate the cost of the integration tax while accelerating data's time to value."

Conducted by Coleman Parkes Research, Cloudera’s study engaged IT decision makers responsible for data analytics and tooling in their organisations across the EMEA region, including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Middle East, between March and April 2023.