- Businesses are collecting more data than ever from both internal and external sources but many feel unprepared to manage and draw insights from it. - Close to all executives surveyed plan to invest in technologies like business intelligence tools, industry-specific applications, and expanding analyst teams to improve how they leverage data. - However, many still face challenges like systems not designed for their industry, lack of timely access to information, and an inability to translate data into meaningful insights.

1. DATA MASTERY:
THE DRIVER OF GLOBAL REVENUE
Businesses around the world are trying to figure out
how to turn data into capital
IN COLLABORATION WITH
GAINING THE DIGITAL ADVANTAGE
©2015 WSJ. Custom Studios, a unit of The Wall Street Journal Advertising Department. The Wall Street Journal news organization was not involved in the creation of this content.

2. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Introduction & Methodology
Data is now a form of capital. Organizations can use the massive amounts of
business information they collect to raise revenue with new products, services and
ways to work. But they need help. And they know it.
WSJ. Custom Studios in collaboration with Oracle set out to understand the
unique challenges several key industries face when dealing with data. In an Ipsos
North America Market Research survey, we queried 742 executives around the
world about the opportunities big data presents and the journey companies are
taking to benefit from them.
Respondent Profile
Corporate Titles
›› 7% Owner/Partner
›› 4% President/CEO/COO
›› 20% CIO/CTO/CFO
›› 46% General Manager/Managing Director/VP
Company Size
›› Average $372MM in annual revenue
›› Average 3.915 employees
Respondent’s Employment by Industry
Manufacturing
HealthCare/
LifeSciences/
Pharmaceuticals
FinancialServices/
Insurance
Retail
Telecommunications
Utilities

3. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Whether it’s from clinical drug trials, social media
conversations or customer purchase records, organizations
have evermore data to manage and translate into insights.
Key Findings
96%
have seen an increase in data in the past two years.
Close to a quarter have seen the data volume double
during that period.
86%
consider the ability to garner insight from business a
top three priority. For 32%, it’s the #1 item.
81%
plan to expand their business analyst team. That
means more staff to parse data and put it to good use.

4. IN COLLABORATION WITH
The Bottom Line
Lack of preparation costs money.
98%of industry executives believe they
are losing revenue as a result of
not effectively managing and
leveraging business information.
Industry-specific applications are a key element to improving
the ability to translate data into insight.

5. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Several years into the data explosion, companies continue to be overwhelmed. Only 6% of senior management across all
industries feel completely prepared for continued data growth — data that will come from a variety of sources.
Predicted Data Growth
WHERE DATA WILL COME FROM THE NEXT 2 YEARS (EST.)
External
Data
Sources
Internal Data Sources
Social
Media
Market
Data
Customer
Information
Sales/
Marketing
Operations Finance Service/
Support
Research
Development
Regulatory
Management
Manufacturing/
Supply Chain
27%
25%
32%
29%
27%
21% 21% 20% 18%
15%
Q: In what areas have you seen biggest increases in variety and volume in the last two years? In the next two years?

6. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Biggest Challenges
Our systems are
not designed to
meet the specific
needs of our
industry.
Information
is no longer
timely when
our business
managers
receive it.
Business
managers need
to rely on IT
to compile
and analyze
information.
Don’t have the
right systems in
place to gather
the information
we need.
Can’t make sense
of the data we
have, or translate
into actionable
insights.
37% 32% 31% 28% 28%
85%of industry executives use software built for their specific needs. Still, inefficient systems and lack of
timeliness pose significant obstacles. (It’s difficult to make good decisions with out-of-date and incomplete information.)
Q: What are your biggest gripes in terms of your organization’s current ability to manage and draw operational insight from information?

7. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Industry-Specific
Software Is Essential
84%
rank these applications as essential or important to their operations.
85%of industry executives use software built for their specific needs.
ManufacturingRetail Health Care/
Life Sciences/
Pharmaceuticals
Financial Services/
Insurance
72%91% 91% 90% 88% 78%
Utilities Telecommunications
Q: Does your organization use industry-specific applications/software to help you to run your business and leverage your business? Q: How important are these applications to your
operations? Ranked 4 or 5 out of 5 where 5 is critical.

8. IN COLLABORATION WITH
More Investment Projected
Almost all (98%) of the industry executives surveyed plan investments to improve information optimization over the
next two years. They’re investing in:
Technology
infrastructure
(e.g., databases,
middleware)
Business
intelligence
tools/analytics
Business
applications
Industry-specific
applications
Hardware (e.g.,
servers, storage)
53% 48% 44% 43% 43%
Q: Looking ahead, what IT infrastructure, systems or solutions will your organization invest in to help improve information optimization over the next two years?

9. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Data Mining Is Mission Critical
Garnering insight from data is a top three priority for 87% of manufacturing
executives.
Sales and marketing data jumped 43% over the last two years, more than any other industry.
Unsurprisingly, social media (25%) is gaining ground.
MANUFACTURING
40%
of manufacturing
executives say
that garnering
insight from data
is their #1 priority,
the highest
of measured
industries.
Q: Where does the ability to draw intelligence from data rank in terms of your organization’s priorities? Q: In what areas have you seen biggest increases in variety and volume in the
last two years? In the next two years?

10. IN COLLABORATION WITH
48%
Nearly half complain that their systems are not designed to
meet their specific needs, higher than any other industry.
26%
Can’t find data once its collected, a bigger gripe for retail than
other industries.
Although more than three-quarters of retail
executives say they are planning to expand their
analyst team, this is well below average.
78%
Data on the Rise
RETAIL
Retailers expect data growth in the next
two years to come primarily from:
Highest
vs.
other
industries
Social Media 42%
Sales and Marketing 41%
Customer Information 38%
Q: In what areas have you seen biggest increases in variety and volume in the last two years? In the next two years? Q: For the coming year, which of the following best describes
your organization’s plans regarding your business analyst team? Q: What are your biggest gripes in terms of your organization’s current ability to manage and draw operational
insight from information?

11. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Data Warriors
Telecommunications executives rate their organizations highly effective in nearly every aspect of
data management. They also place a high priority on drawing intelligence from data.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
rank analyzing
data their #1
priority, second to
manufacturing
at 40%
39%
feel that data
doesn’t reach
business managers
promptly, the
highest percentage
of any industry
43%
plan to expand
business analyst
teams, tied
for first with
manufacturing
89%
Q: Where does the ability to draw intelligence from data rank in terms of your organization’s priorities? Q: What are your biggest gripes in terms of your organization’s current ability to
manage and draw operational insight from information? Q. For the coming year, which of the following best describes your organization’s plans regarding your business analyst team?

12. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Trying to Make Sense of Data
This sector isn’t satisfied with its ability to translate
information into actionable insights. Executives also say they
lack the right systems to gather the information they need.
use industry-specific applications — above-
average (the average is 85%), yet utilities rank
last in rating these apps business-critical.
plan to expand their business analyst team over
the coming year, less than manufacturing and
telecommunications but more than the other
industries.
use an outside organization to host and manage
business-critical information, second only to
financial services/insurance.
88%
83%
64%
UTILITIES
Q: Does your organization use industry-specific applications/software to help you to run your business and leverage your business? Q: How important are these applications to your operations?
Ranked 4 or 5 out of 5 where 5 is critical. Q: For the coming year, which of the following best describes your organization’s plans regarding your business analyst team? Q: Please think about
your organization’s use of outside organizations to manage your business critical information (such as cloud services), which statement most closely fits with your organization’s use?

13. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Least Likely to Succeed?
HEALTH CARE/LIFE SCIENCES/
PHARMACEUTICALS
Respondents in health care, life sciences and
pharmaceuticals have few “gripes” compared with other
industries, which might explain why they’re least likely to
be aggressive about data.
Lower
than
other
industries
Compared
to 41% for
telecoms
73%
plan to expand their analyst team
72%
use industry-specific applications
62%
have seen dataflow more than double in the last
two years
Q: From your perspective, how much more business information is your organization collecting and managing today than it did two years ago, across all business areas? Q: For the
coming year, which of the following best describes your organization’s plans regarding your business analyst team? Q: Does your organization use industry-specific applications/
software to help you to run your business and leverage your business?

14. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Data Doubles Down
FINANCIAL SERVICES/INSURANCE
Financial services and insurance
executives have a high propensity
to use industry-specific
applications to leverage business
information.
Highest
vs.
other
industries
Use outside services such as the
cloud to host and manage at least
some business-critical information.
66%
Can’t give business managers
access to the information they
need; they rely on IT to compile and
analyze information.
Systems aren’t designed to meet
the specific needs of their industry.
33%
31%
Lowest
vs.
other
industries
Highest
vs.
other
industries
Q: Please think about your organization’s use of outside organizations to manage your business critical information (such as cloud services), which statement most closely fits with
your organization’s use? Q: What are your biggest gripes in terms of your organization’s current ability to manage and draw operational insight from information?

15. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Around the World: APAC
83%of executives in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region put the ability to garner insight from business
data on their list of priorities. Helps explain why nearly all (99%) plan to make additional technology
investments over the next two years, primarily in:
Tech
infrastructure
55%
Business
intelligence tools
and analytics
53%
Industry-specific
applications
51%
Hardware
investments
49%
Q: Looking ahead, what IT infrastructure, systems or solutions will your organization invest in to help improve information optimization over the next two years?

16. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Around the World: EMEA
Nearly half (43%) of executives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region say the volume of
business information acquired has grown by more than half relative to two years ago. Some believe they are
prepared to handle more data; others have doubts.
55%of organizations feel their companies are relatively well-prepared for a data doubling
44%believe they are not
Another gap:
39%feel confident in safeguarding data
19%feel their organization is highly effective in translating business information into actionable intelligence
Q: Say the amount of information your organization collects suddenly doubled, how prepared is your organization to manage this kind of potential information deluge? Q: On a scale
of 1-10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent, how would you rate your organization’s effectiveness in the following areas? — Securing/safeguarding data. Translating information into
actionable intelligence.

17. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Around the World: North America
Executives are concerned about how well their organizations manage and draw operational insight from the
data they already have.
The biggest areas of concern:
38%existing systems are not designed to meet their industry’s specific requirements
29%lack the right systems to gather information they need
Still, 61% have increased their usage of industry-specific tools in the past two years, and 37% plan to invest in these
tools over the next two years.
Q: What are your biggest gripes in terms of your organization’s current ability to manage and draw operational insight from information?

18. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Around the World: Latin America
99%of executives in the region consider the ability to garner insights from business data a top three
priority — 100% have seen an increase in business information in the past two years, especially in:
When asked where they expect to see the biggest growth in information in the next two years, they cited financial
information (43%) and operations (37%), particularly in health care where operations data is projected to grow by 48%.
Financial data
64%
Operations
58%
Regulatory
management
24%
Q: Where does the ability to draw intelligence from data rank in terms of your organization’s priorities? Q: In what areas have you seen biggest increases in variety and volume in the
last two years? In the next two years?

19. IN COLLABORATION WITH
Turn Data Into Capital
Investing in data solutions, industry-specific applications, analyst teams
and different types of analytics can help businesses overcome
common challenges.
From Australia to the U.S., in factories and high-rise offices, competitive businesses know they need to gather, analyze
and leverage data effectively to stay ahead of rivals. That’s how you turn data into capital.