For an organization to successfully implement a data democratization strategy to make informed decisions, it must have a data-driven mindset or culture. That’s why businesses that make most of the decisions based on their data are 58% more likely to beat their revenue targets than those who don’t, as reported by Forrester Consulting. Another report by McKinsey showed that data-driven businesses are 23 times more likely to outperform their competitors clearly in terms of new customer acquisition.

But the question remains: how does data democratization help foster a data-driven culture for improved decision-making in a business world filled with uncertainty? In this blog, we will explore what data democratization is and how data-driven businesses can make the most out of it for driving innovation.

Data-driven culture: The key to modern business success

As numerous companies acknowledge data’s value in informing strategic decisions, studies indicate that those embracing data-driven approaches yield 5-6% higher outcomes and productivity levels. Forrester also estimates that organizations who prioritize data-driven strategies experience an average annual growth of over 30%.

Considering the impact of data reshaping the global market, organizations are becoming increasingly aware of embracing a data-driven environment to stay agile. A data-driven culture within an organization is one in which data is valued and integrated into every aspect of decision-making and operations.

Today, the increasingly accessible data for making smart and informed decisions is no longer merely a recommended practice. It is becoming a new norm within the business community to propel business growth to unprecedented heights. However, transitioning from no data to “data-driven” is not something that will happen overnight. Rather, businesses should remain steadfast in their efforts to cultivate a data-driven culture where data is considered a fundamental component of making decisions.

Now, what is data democratization?

The need for data democratization marks a significant shift in how organizations approach data utilization and decision-making processes. Historically, data was often siloed within specific departments or controlled by a select group of individuals with specialized skills. This created a bottleneck at the gateway to the data and slowed progress.

Through 2025, 80% of organizations seeking to scale digital business will fail because they don’t take a modern approach to data and analytics governance, as stated by Gartner’s.

To eliminate this barrier, organizations needed open access to the data they needed with no gateway. That’s when data-driven organizations embraced data democratization to break down barriers by providing widespread access to data across all levels of the organization.

The most common concept of data democratization is universal data access. Although data accessibility is the foundation of data democratization, it represents only a fraction of a broader concept. By definition,