A challenging year ahead will demand a balance between bold data use and governance. What do the data experts think? We’ve got the top five predictions from TIBCO’s leading data thinkers.

All the talk is of economic turmoil in Europe in 2023 but while this will almost certainly have an impact on how organisations manage technology investments, data is the one constant that will need even more careful attention. How organisations manage and use their data could be the difference between profitability and failure. It’s that simple.

Data governance will become even more crucial. The EU’s strengthening stance on data sovereignty and data privacy has already set a standard for the digital economy across the continent and beyond. Microsoft’s announcement that it will begin a phased rollout of its ‘EU Data Boundary’ solution, follows similar ‘sovereignty cloud’ suggestions from AWS and Google.

Recent analyst research highlights that formal data governance teams will increase by 30% in 2023, “to develop standards and policies, implement enterprise data governance tools, and coordinate business-line efforts.”

Data is the difference-maker across every industry. The scramble for intelligence will be felt across vertical sectors, from smart manufacturing and field service maintenance through to utilities and transport. Using data better, for innovation, efficiencies and strategic decision-making will need a dedicated approach.

GAIA-X’s ripple effect will make European privacy regulations the global standard 

“Currently, Europe’s GAIA-X cloud project is looking to challenge the cloud hegemonic powers of the United States and China,” says Alessandro Chimera, director digitalisation strategy at TIBCO. “Europe feels that cloud providers located in the United States and China might process sensitive data like Electronic Patient Records and private e-commerce transaction data from their customers with minimal concern to the privacy of the people whose data is being processed. This will cause a ripple effect in the United States, as organisations looking to do business in Europe who want access to the data being shared in GAIA-X will have to adopt policies that conform to Europe’s more stringent privacy standards.”

API strategies will be needed to manage risk in developing ecosystems

“Over the past year, APIs have become the dominant target for hackers looking to disrupt supply chains and steal or ransom data,” says Alessandro Chimera, director digitalisation strategy at TIBCO. “A major reason for this has been the lack of an API strategy. In 2023, organisations will need to address these issues by having dedicated API teams, not just for security purposes but because APIs have become essential building blocks for software, from eliminating mundane tasks for developers like installing and upgrading applications to creating new ways for organisations to monetise their data.”

Organisations need to face the combined complexities of data volume, diversity and governance

“In 2023, it won’t be just the volume of data but the diversity of data along with those increased volumes that will challenge organisations,” says Randy Menon, senior vice president and head of engineering at TIBCO. “In addition, many of our customers have renewed their focus on governance and quality as AI becomes more mainstream and part of critical decision making. While the explosion of AI and machine learning has boosted the hunger for data, organisations are also now faced with managing data diversity that comes from traditional structured sources, and various sources of unstructured data. While that in itself is not new, the diversity and increased volumes combined with a renewed focus on governance, regulations and cost-sensitivities will usher in newer strategies around data and computation. Specifically, omni-cloud and data access strategies will need to be aligned, as some of the emerging data fabric technologies are attempting to do, in order to process data closer to where it resides.”

Data literacy will become essential to accelerating business value

“The struggle to turn data into business value is real, and enterprises that can’t make the shift will lag further behind their competition,” says Lori Witzel, director of research for analytics and data management, TIBCO. “Without at least a baseline level of data literacy across business users, investments in robust data management solutions won't provide full value from enterprise data for the organisation. In 2023, data literacy will become essential in accelerating business value for enterprises, and those organisations that embrace data literacy for all business users will have an edge in rapidly changing, competitive markets.”

FinOps will only improve value from the cloud

“Cloud adoption is increasing, and business leaders will continue to face challenges around cloud value and spending,” says Lori Witzel, director of research for analytics and data management, TIBCO. “Enterprises will adopt FinOps, bringing transparency and financial accountability to cloud spending, to get more value from the cloud. Leaders will better manage financial operations and compliance issues related to the cloud, ultimately empowering cloud consumers while reducing waste.”