Organizations are generating more data than ever before—but turning data into decisions remains a challenge. How can all that information truly transform the business?
Despite having access to advanced technologies and analytical tools, many companies continue to operate under a paradox: too much data, too little clarity.
According to IDC, over 175 zettabytes of data will be created globally by 2025. However, more than 70% of that data will never be analyzed or used. This value drain doesn’t stem from a lack of data, but from structural, technological, and cultural barriers that prevent organizations from extracting what really matters: actionable insights.
Barriers That Block You from Turning Data into Decisions
In our experience, here are some of the most common challenges companies face when trying to unlock value from their data:
Data silos:
Information is often scattered across departments, systems, and formats. The lack of integration makes it nearly impossible to get a unified view of the business.
Poor data quality:
Incomplete, duplicated, outdated, or unstructured data leads to unreliable analyses and flawed decisions. The old principle of “garbage in, garbage out” still applies.
Lack of data governance:
Without a clear data governance strategy, decisions about who can access, store, and use data are often improvised or reactive—raising operational and regulatory risks.
Weak analytics culture:
Even with modern dashboards, many key decisions are still made based on intuition or past experience—underutilizing the data that’s already available.
The business–tech gap:
Technical teams may build advanced models, but without a strong connection to strategic business questions, those models rarely lead to action.
Turning Data into Decisions: What Needs to Change First?
Overcoming these challenges requires more than just new tools—it demands a deep transformation. Leading data-driven organizations know it’s not just about analytics capabilities, but also about strong frameworks and new decision-making habits.
Based on our observations, David Armando López, Director of AI, Data, and Cloud at Linko, highlights five pillars that enable enterprise data strategies to succeed:
- Modern data architectures: built to connect legacy systems with new sources across hybrid or distributed cloud environments.
- Automated data cleansing and enrichment: ensuring that data is reliable, updated, and relevant.
- Flexible governance models: designed to scale data usage without compromising control or security.
- Advanced analytics enablement: predictive models, automation, and visualizations that serve real business needs.
- Training and ongoing support: so teams don’t just consume dashboards, but learn to ask better questions and challenge their own assumptions.
“Data alone doesn’t create value—it’s the interpretation that turns a spreadsheet into strategy,” says López.
Building a Culture Focused on Turning Data into Decisions
The challenge is not just technical—it’s cultural. Organizations that are truly turning data into value are doing more than deploying platforms. They are changing how they think and decide.
It’s not about having more reports—it’s about asking better questions. It’s not about automating for the sake of it—it’s about knowing where data can amplify the impact of each decision.
In this context, having well-defined enterprise data strategies is no longer optional—it’s essential. They are the foundation for turning massive volumes of information into real competitive advantage.
From our perspective, turning data into decisions means putting technology at the service of human judgment—not the other way around. It means building organizations where intuition still matters, but is backed by evidence. Where every team—from operations to executive leadership—can not only understand what happened, but also anticipate what might happen… and act accordingly.
At Linko, we guide organizations on this journey—from data cleansing and system integration to enabling intelligent models that support high-impact decisions. If you’re ready to stop hoarding data and start generating real business value, we’re ready to help.
Learn more about our solutions at: https://linko.xyz/