Report - IT departments hindering data access as only 46 per cent of top execs can get the information they require

PwC and Iron Mountain report alleges IT can be unnecessary impediment to the exploitation of business data

Only 46 per cent of senior executives in European and North American businesses have access to their company's most important information, and the IT department may be to blame, a new report by PwC and storage information firm Iron Mountain claims.

Out of 1,800 senior business leaders in both SMBs (small to medium businesses) and larger firms of more than 2,500 employees, less than half of senior executives felt they had access to the data they required, as "two-thirds of the businesses surveyed direct employees to the IT department for access to valuable information".

The study found that companies are generally better at offering specific departments access to their own data - including research and development (35 per cent of those asked), finance (another 35 per cent) and records management (27 per cent). Only four per cent of firms offer information generally to anybody in the company.

It was found that in firms where IT doesn't control access, access rights tended to increase by around 10 per cent.

The study also noted that even when the IT department does easily grant access - as 68 per cent of businesses say they are confident it does, "widespread confusion and inconsistency between functions" means that access to data is still impeded on a technical level.

"The identity of the data-gatekeepers can prove critical in how or even whether information is allowed to flow freely to those best placed to use it for business benefit," said Sue Trombley, managing director of thought leadership at Iron Mountain.

"The IT department plays a vital role in protecting and managing information, but the information dynamic has changed. Businesses now need to strike a balance between managing information to mitigate risk as well as managing it for value," Trombley continued.

"Organisations - and their IT departments - must make sure that those employees best placed to exploit information to support stated business goals can access relevant and appropriate information when they need it. This may require data to be ‘de-identified' to protect private information before it is made available for analytics. Failure to have a strategy for controlling access can quickly lead to employees coming up with unauthorised and unprotected workarounds to find what they need."

Richard Petley, director at PwC, added: "In an environment that is data-rich and technology-savvy, organisations have an opportunity to differentiate themselves by ensuring that the best possible management information is available to the right people at the right time and that this information establishes an accurate and complete picture of their business - one that gives them the confidence to make quicker, bolder and more informed decisions than their competitors."