Global Survey Focuses On Vital Role Of Unified Data Platforms In AI
Cloudera Study Polls Over 600 Data Leaders
A new survey commissioned by Cloudera, the California-headquartered hybrid data company for trusted enterprise AI, in collaboration with Foundry Media, has revealed that an overwhelming 90% of respondents believe that consolidating the data lifecycle onto a single platform is indispensable for analytics and AI success.
The ‘Data Architecture and Strategy in the AI Era’ survey illuminates the crucial role of unified data platforms in AI.
Over 600 data leaders and senior IT decision-makers from the United States, Europe and APAC were polled for the study.
In today’s landscape, the ascendancy of generative AI underscores the imperative of reliable data, as the potency of AI insights correlates directly with the quality of the data fuelling them.
However, the survey uncovered significant hurdles hindering organisations’ AI endeavours.
The Challenges
Respondents cited challenges including data quality and availability (36%), scalability and deployment issues (36%), integration complexities with existing systems (35%), change management (34%), and model transparency concerns (34%).
These findings emphasise the presence of foundational data barriers that necessitate resolution despite increased investments in AI.
Abhas Ricky, Chief Strategy Officer of Cloudera, stated: “As more enterprises pivot towards digital transformation and the development of AI-driven solutions, they are adopting hybrid and multi-cloud strategies, leading to ‘data sprawl and architectural overruns’ across various business units and practitioner teams.”
Ricky also highlighted the need for organisations to implement standardised, use case-centric data architectures and platforms capable of accommodating disparate data sources, whether on-premises or in the cloud, to fully leverage AI capabilities effectively.
The survey identified three fundamental prerequisites for organisations striving to achieve successful AI integration:
Modern Data Architecture Aligned with Business Strategy: It is crucial that a single data platform seamlessly operates across public cloud and on-premises environments. Key benefits of modern data architectures include streamlined data and analytics processes (40%) and enhanced flexibility in managing diverse data types (38%).
Unified Data Management: Contemporary organisations require flexible and scalable cloud management technologies to transform data into actionable insights. Significant hindrances to comprehensive data management essential for AI model development include data volume and complexity (62%), data security (56%), and governance and compliance concerns (52%).
Versatile and Secure Data Platforms: 93% of respondents favour embracing a hybrid data management approach encompassing both on-premises and public cloud deployments as the preferred data and analytics strategy, ensuring adaptability to evolving organisational needs.
Abhas added: “Enterprises aim to derive significant value from their data strategies and catalyse their AI initiatives without compromising profitability.” He highlighted the importance of rapidly constructing and deploying modern platforms and AI architectures to support this mission.
“Cloudera reaffirms its commitment to assisting customers in addressing their most pressing data and AI challenges. It offers the industry’s sole hybrid, multi-cloud data platform designed for data accessibility across diverse environments.”
The target company size for the Foundry research was enterprises with annual revenue of over $500 million or more than 1,000 employees globally.
All survey participants had to play a prominent role in selecting data-related products and services, including, but not limited to, infrastructure.
Foundry is headquartered in Massachusetts, United States.
Featured image: Abhas Ricky speaks at EVOLVE 2023 in New York City on November 2, 2023. Credit: Arnold Pinto
