Ignoring Real-Time Data Could Hurt Your Business

There is no question that data has become one of the most valuable commodities in the world. And as the demand for data grows, so does the competition to acquire and utilize it. For many companies, data-driven insights are the key to unlocking new levels of growth, productivity, and profitability.

However, it's now not enough to have data — you need to have the right data, and you need to be able to use it in real time. According to the State of the Data Race 2022 report from DataStax, 78% of respondents agree that real-time data is a "must-have, not a nice-to-have."

Surveying over 500 technology leaders and practitioners across industries, the report discovered that real-time data, or the ability to access and use data in the moment, is becoming increasingly essential to success. Not only that but there is a clear link between real-time data and revenue growth.

According to the report, 71% of all respondents claimed they could tie their revenue growth directly to real-time data. Data leaders, defined by DataStax as companies or businesses that excel at leveraging data to create new products and revenue streams, were even more likely to see a positive impact, with 42% experiencing transformative revenue growth from their real-time data strategies.

Customer satisfaction and market share also improved among companies that leverage real-time data. 34% of respondents said they had seen an improvement in customer satisfaction, while 31% said they had gained market share.

For customers, real-time experiences are now the expectation, not the exception. Companies that aim to stand out should do more than just personalization—they need to provide hyper-personalization at scale, and they need to do it in real-time. This will allow them to drive at least 20% of their revenue from data, just like the top performers.

But the benefits of real-time data don't stop there. The report also found that companies with a strategic focus on real-time data were more likely to experience improvements in developer productivity (66%).

"Real-time data is like the Mediterranean Diet: all healthy benefits with no downside," said Bryan Kirschner, vice president, Strategy, at DataStax. "The survey showed real-time data powers better digital experiences, which makes customers happy; it enables developers to be more productive, which makes development teams and CTOs happy; and it drives revenues, which makes boards and investors happy, especially in today’s economic climate."

Companies looking to hire the best developers should keep in mind that they are looking for more than just a paycheck — they want to work with cutting-edge technologies that will allow them to have a real impact. The report found that developers are most excited about working with real-time data and artificial intelligence (AI).

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