Firms being held back by disconnected data, research claims

Close to three quarters of manufacturing and engineering businesses are being held back by ‘disconnected data’ according to research from digitalisation specialist Intoware.

A survey commissioned by the company revealed that some 82% of those asked feel their business is ‘data informed’ – meaning they value data and ensure employees have access to it to make informed decisions – while 74% claim to ‘trust data’ enough to make informed decisions to complete work tasks. 

However 73% of industrial businesses are relying on legacy systems and spreadsheets containing with ‘disconnected’ data to get tasks done, the survey reveals.

“With many businesses relying on disconnected data in scattered systems that can’t connect to the cloud, it is clearly holding performance back despite the value they place in data,” the report claims.

“Teams that work in silos have manual processes, databases and legacy systems,” it adds. “While these may work individually, these systems do not communicate well across departments or manufacturing plants. The data they generate is difficult to collect so it stays trapped in the silo so it is impossible to get a transparent, ‘end to end’ view of plant operations.”

Commenting on the findings, Intoware CEO Keith Tilley said: “This survey shows that most industrial businesses believe they are data informed, when in reality they could be relying on old, out of date data. This disconnected data acts like a ball and chain, tying down staff as they spend a huge amount of time trying to unlock data trapped in spreadsheets and legacy systems to meet the demands of businesses, customers and regulators.

He added: “A reliance on siloed data severely hinders business operations with accountability and visibility issues, as each department has their own interpretation of data, which is a problem for businesses that are increasingly under pressure to evolve how they manage resources and communicate data insights.

“If you digitise paper processes with work instruction ‘tools’ that integrate with connected smart devices and third party systems, this information can be more easily shared, providing staff with access to quality data and a ‘single source of truth’, for more proactive and rapid ‘real time’ insights to improve productivity and compliance,” he said.