5 Takeaways from the Progress DataDirect Data Connectivity Report

What do people who live and breathe data say matters the most about the cloud, data regulations, databases, analytics and reporting, and data connectivity?

Late last year, we conducted our annual data connectivity survey, which asked more than 1,800 information management professionals across multiple fields how they felt about the state of the enterprise information landscape. We then worked with noted author David Loshin of Knowledge Integrity to make sense of the data we captured. We are proud to announce the results of the survey with the 2020 Progress DataDirect Data Connectivity Report.

I won’t lie, it’s a long report. If you’re here for the details, spend the time with the report. You’ll be fascinated by what you can learn. For example, do you know the most preferred big data platform for the IT services and consulting industry? The answer is in the report.

If you’re more of a too-long-didn’t-read (TL;DR) person, I’m here for you with the summary.

1. Although we’ve been talking about the cloud for years, not everyone is there yet. In fact, many enterprises are straddling the line between the worlds of cloud and on-premises data. This hybrid architecture is the answer many businesses need when confronting issues like legacy system renovation, but it comes with its own set of problems.
2. Which leads us to our next point—data regulations across industries. In IT services, software, manufacturing and insurance, GDPR was the most commonly cited regulation of concern. Others include HIPAA/HITECH in the healthcare industry and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) in the financial industry. Nevertheless, storing data in cloud applications and databases leaves many enterprises undeterred. Data security has improved over time, and the benefits of scalability, elasticity and flexible pricing models outweigh any perceived security risks.
3. The top three preferred databases haven’t changed much since our last survey. They are SQL Server, MySQL and Oracle. However, the increase of cloud adoption means cloud-based databases are creeping their way up the list. For example, use of Amazon Redshift went from 7% of respondents in 2018 to 10% in this year's survey.
4. The abundance of analytics and reporting tools has turned everyone into a hobby data scientist. But for the real business intelligence professionals, the citizen data scientist is no joke. We use tools like Microsoft BI Platform, Power BI and Tableau to make operational and strategic business decisions daily. Yet, the most commonly used reporting tool is Microsoft Excel across all industries.
5. Data connectivity is the crux of the matter. Data sitting alone in a silo is useless until real people can learn from it. Likewise, data in this on-premises database that can't talk to data in that cloud application cannot enrich one another to present a full picture to an analyst. At every turn, data and system connectivity is the key to taking full advantage of real-time data across platforms and operating systems.

Perhaps my summary has only scratched the surface on the depth of this report. In fact, I know that to be true, especially if you appreciate graphs and charts. I highly encourage you to read the report for yourself, as well as check out some of the data connectivity solutions Progress DataDirect has to offer.

Download the data connectivity report