Iron Mountain and PwC launch new Information Value Index to help
companies benchmark their own performance
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Just four percent of businesses are able to extract the full value from
the information they hold, with over a third (36 percent) lacking the
tools and skills they need to do so, according to new research from
storage and information management company, Iron
Mountain (NYSE: IRM) and PwC. As a result, 43 percent of the
European and North American companies surveyed obtain little tangible
benefit from their information, and 23 percent derive no benefit
whatsoever.
The study questioned 1,800 senior business leaders, divided equally
between Europe and North America, in mid-sized (over 250 employees) and
enterprise-level organizations (over 2,500 employees).
The results of the study have been used to create an Information
Value Index that measures how well businesses in different
countries currently manage their information for competitive advantage.
With an average score of 50.1 out of an ideal score of 100 (52.9 in
North America and 47.3 in Europe), the index confirms that the vast
majority of businesses ? regardless of size, geography or sector ? have
a long way to go before they can fully realize the value from their
information.
The findings show that, despite the belief held by 75 percent of North
American business leaders that they are already making the most of their
information, a look at the resources their organizations currently have
in place tells a very different story.
One in five of those surveyed does not employ data analysts to extract
value from information, or lacks the data interpretation skills or
insight application capabilities required to turn information into the
decision-ready facts, targeted marketing campaigns, improved processes
and innovation that deliver a return on information.
The study also reveals that many organizations are failing to
effectively manage their information as it travels through the business.
Nearly one in five doesn’t believe the organization knows what
information it holds (16 percent), how it flows through the business and
where it is either most valuable (23 percent) or most vulnerable (20
percent).
“Every organization we spoke to wants to use its information to operate
and compete more effectively, but too many are held back by a lack of
specific skills, technical capabilities and their corporate culture. The
impact of these gaps is felt at the highest levels of the business.
Around a quarter of C-suite executives say they have yet to experience
any benefits from information in terms of increased speed and confidence
in decision-making, faster product development, cost savings or new
customer acquisition or retention. Managing information for competitive
advantage is vital for long-term business success and belongs at the
very top of the company agenda,” states Sue Trombley, managing director
of thought leadership, Iron Mountain.
Commenting on the research, Richard Petley from PwC says that
information is among the most undervalued assets in the commercial
world: “Every transaction with a customer and every interaction with a
stakeholder delivers market intelligence, customer insight, an
opportunity for innovation and the potential for profit. Yet our Information
Value Index shows that only four in a hundred businesses are
sweating their information assets to create competitive advantage. When
it comes to information management, many of the world’s leading
organizations don’t know what they don’t know and aren’t trying to find
out. In a 24/7 digital world, information is insight and insight is
power and the falling cost of technology means it has never been easier
to harness information and use this like any other asset in the
business. The introduction of our Information Value Index sets a
new benchmark against which organizations can measure how their
information assets are being exploited.”
To see the full results of the research, please visit: www.ironmountain.com/pwc
Iron Mountain and PwC surveyed 1,800 senior business leaders across a
broad range of sectors (energy, financial services, legal services,
manufacturing and engineering, healthcare (US only) insurance,
pharmaceuticals), in North America (US and Canada) and five European
countries (France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK). The
responses to 36 of the questionnaire statements in the survey drive and
populate the information value index. PwC and Iron Mountain
consider these statements to represent the core organisational
(governance and culture) and technical capabilities (skills and tools)
and the associated benefits that demonstrate an information advantage.
About Iron Mountain:
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is a leading provider of storage
and information management services. The company’s real estate network
of over 67 million square feet across more than 1,000 facilities in 36
countries allows it to serve customers with speed and accuracy. And its
solutions for records management, data management and document
management help organizations to lower storage costs, comply with
regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information for
business advantage. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects
billions of information assets, including business documents, backup
tapes, electronic files and medical data. Visit www.ironmountain.com
for more information.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150923005234/en/
Source: Iron Mountain