TRENDING
to the recent C-Suite study, we are seeing
that the majority of leaders in our region
strongly believe data helps create a strategic
advantage in strengthening their level of
customer trust as well as their bottom lines.”
While the study focuses on the need for
transparency on how companies handle
customer data, it also highlights the
importance of trusting data that’s within
an organisation. Leaders in MEA were
found to take great pains to ensure that
the data within its own walls is accurate
and clean so they can leverage it to make
the best-informed decisions on important
business ventures, such as developing
new business models and entering new or
emerging markets.
“
LEADERS IN MEA
WERE FOUND TO
TAKE GREAT
PAINS TO ENSURE
THAT THE DATA
WITHIN ITS OWN
WALLS IS
ACCURATE
AND CLEAN.
transparency, reciprocity and accountability
are critical ingredients for earning trust
among key stakeholders.
These leaders have a deep understanding
that building trust in customer relationships
26
INTELLIGENTCIO
Hossam Seif El-Din, Vice President,
Enterprise and Commercial, IBM Middle East
and Africa
is a strategic imperative and work hard to
earn and maintain it. In fact:
• 91% of leaders in MEA, compared to 82%
of their peers globally, strongly believe
data helps create a strategic advantage in
strengthening their level of customer trust
as well as their bottom lines.
• Torchbearers in MEA also outpace their
peers in the region by 48% in their
capacity to respect customers’ data
privacy as a core competitive advantage.
Globally, Torchbearers outpace their
peers by 22%
“Today, data is considered one of the most
important assets that any organisation
possesses,” said Hossam Seif El-Din, Vice
President, Enterprise and Commercial, IBM
Middle East and Africa (MEA). “Not only
does data have the power to differentiate
businesses from their competition but
transform entire business models. According
• In MEA, 80% already extensively use
data to develop new business models,
compared to a global average of 70%
• While 73% already use data to
make informed decisions on entering
new markets, compared to a global
average of 66%
• 70% of C-suite executives in MEA
believe that automation of decision-
making processes will increase in their
business landscape over the next two to
three years, compared to 65% of their
peers globally
The study also revealed an emphasis on
the importance of creating trustworthy
ecosystems. Data that simply stays within
the organisation is more likely to drift out
of date than to grow in value. Leading
organisations are liberating their data while
simultaneously de-risking data exchanges in
a shared ecosystem – allowing it to circulate
widely, without sacrificing their responsibility
to secure permissions and safeguard it.
While the study provides the guidance
that companies should always practice
transparency, reciprocity and accountability
when handling data and engaging
customers and business partners, other
recommendations include:
1. Strengthen relationships with customers
by becoming trusted custodians
of personal data, demonstrating
transparency by revealing data about
offerings and workflows, and using the
trust advantage they’ve earned to create
differentiating business models.
www.intelligentcio.com