According to a mini international survey, data privacy, (cyber) security, lack of expertise and regulatory compliance topped the list

In an Apr 2024 international survey* of 200 respondents (95 CxOs and 105 director-level and above) on unstructured data and generative AI (GenAI), some trends were observed.

First, interest among the respondents in GenAI was high, but significant investment was lacking: 22% of all respondents indicated they were making “significant” investments in AI technologies. Respondents expected modest financial gains from using unstructured data, with 45% anticipating a 10%–20% improvement in their top or bottom lines.

Second, 62% saw the opportunity in unstructured data to improve operational efficiency, while 31% believed it can drive innovation.

Third, respondents indicated that traditional search tools were falling short for unstructured data. Some 45% “described a use-case involving better search and query tools to dig into internal documents.” Of this group, 16% had purchased solutions designed to deliver insights from unstructured data, and most efforts were still in the early or pilot stages.

Fourth, 59% of respondents were very concerned about data privacy, while 47% were worried about regulatory compliance, while 19% harbored concerns about returns on investments.

Finally, when evaluating vendors, respondents rated system integration (55%), cost (50%), and governance features (49%) as top priorities, compared to vendor reputation (16%).

According to Brendan Grady, General Manager, Analytics Business Unit, Qlik, the firm that commissioned the survey: respondents wanted “more real value from this (unstructured data)…” but   “70% agree their organization is not well equipped to understand how GenAI can be leveraged on their unstructured data.”

The survey’s final takeaway: the biggest concerns as companies start their GenAI journey were: “data privacy and security at the top, quickly followed by lack of expertise and regulatory compliance.”

*87% from North America, 8% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 5% from parts of APAC. Respondents came from firms with under-200 employees (17%), to midsized firms of 201 to 1,200 employees (35%), to larger firms with more-than-1,200 employees (24%), and Global 2000 firms (25%).