Despite achieving a 102 per cent return on such investments, nearly four out of five Australian respondents said they expect to see an even higher return, the report found.

Only 17 per cent of individuals surveyed said their business had managed to achieve the return on investment they expected from data, while no responses indicated a return that “exceeded investments”.

According to the study, there are a number of ‘key factors’ that are preventing Australian businesses from improving their return on investments.

Nearly 40 per cent of those surveyed indicated a “lack of the right technology to support data management” as holding their business back (39 per cent), while the same percentage noted a lack of organisational funding.

A slightly larger number of responses cited an absence of support from senior management as a barrier, while 57 per cent said their business had inadequate employee engagement or training on data management.

For the managing director of Veritas Technologies across Australia and New Zealand Howard Fyffe, mismanagement of data “can lead to security vulnerabilities, lost revenues and missed opportunities to provide a better customer experience”.

He highlighted data mismanagement as costing Australian businesses about $2.5 million annually.

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“Australian organisations must equip themselves with the ability to access, protect and derive insights from their data,” Mr Fyffe considered.

“By promoting a cultural shift in the way data is managed, which includes buy-in from leadership as well as tools, processes and training, companies can empower employees with full visibility and control of data to make more informed decisions.”

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