Skip to Content

How Can Companies Venture Beyond Data Deluge? CEO Jon Clarke Explains.

A businessman runs from a data deluge, a wave of binary code.
Businesses that can get their data together can take the lead. Now is the time for the C-suite to tackle data volume woes. [Adobe Stock | Salesforce]

In this article, Jon Clarke, former CEO of intent data platform Cyance, lifts the lid on some of the data nightmares he’s seen enterprises fall into.

Business data is growing at an unfathomable rate. And companies that leverage it to drive decision-making are 23 times more likely to outperform their competitors, according to Forbes.

But for data to be used effectively, it must be organised and structured, which can be a challenge under such a deluge. It’s not surprising then that 25% of critical data in Fortune 1000 companies remains siloed and unmanageable. Businesses that can get their data together can take the lead. Now is the time for the C-suite to tackle data volume woes. 

As the CEO of Cynance, an intent data platform, Jon Clarke had a unique view into the inner workings of many business’ data strategies. He’s seen companies get it very right, very wrong, and everywhere in between. That’s why we asked him to share his views on what works, what doesn’t and what are the data strategy red flags that businesses need to look out for? 

Unlock a Thriving Data Culture!

 Transform your business by fostering a thriving data culture. Learn how to improve data literacy and embed data in the flow of work. 

1. Siloed data and disconnected thinking   

81% of IT leaders globally say data silos hinder digital transformation.  

I can think of one very high-profile software company in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) space that embarked on a costly ABM strategy, targeting what they believed was their ideal customer profile. However, their foundational data was flawed. What they thought was a single source of truth actually wasn’t.   

This is because there were certain parts of their operations that had given up trying to knit the data together, abandoning efforts to integrate it effectively and leaving significant gaps in their understanding. The lack of cohesion proved costly. They spent millions, and it was well below par in terms of results.   

The inability to unify and validate data can often mislead decision making. And when you let the wrong baseline data skew your thinking, you’re on a hiding to nothing.   

At the heart of the problem lies the complexity inherent in large companies. There’s lots going on, lots of siloed teams often with their own agendas, politics, and priorities. These fragmented structures create a web of complexity that makes integrating data challenging. It’s all about planning at the end of the day. You can’t cut corners. You must know all the data.   

How can you overcome this?    

  • Audit your tech stack and data sources to identify gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies.    
  • Invest in data software solutions to consolidate information into a reliable single source of truth.    
  • Ensure that teams allocate time and resources to validate data before making decisions.    

2. Not maintaining data compliance   

92% of analytics and IT leaders globally say the need for trustworthy data is higher than ever.  

Failing data compliance places businesses in danger. I know one company in the financial services sector that was found out for not managing their data properly… they were fined millions. Bodies like the Information Commissioner’s Office are coming down hard and fast on non-compliance. And arguably, it’s about time.   

There’s been a lot of noise for a long while now around GDPR and the tightening of data privacy regulations, pointing to the precarious position organisations find themselves in as the era of third-party cookies nears its end.   

While the transition has been delayed, in reality, there are many other platforms – like iOS – that have stopped third-party cookie usage, underscoring the urgency to adapt.    

Today, businesses can no longer afford to take a passive approach. You can’t just say, ‘oh, well, it’s OK, we can still carry on as we are’. Instead, companies must focus on first-party data, building audiences with consent. And here there are no shortcuts: this is a time and resource intensive process.    

How can you overcome this?   

  • Prioritise first-party data collection, ensuring all data is gathered with explicit user consent in ways such as website opt-in forms or leveraging email and loyalty programs.  
  • Update systems and processes to keep pace with evolving standards and reduce risks of non-compliance.    
  • Conduct regular audits of data management processes to ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and invest in technologies that monitor data, such as data encryption, user consent tracking and automated compliance reporting.  

3. Lack of a top-down culture     

33% of employees globally say that staying aligned on overall company goals and direction is a hurdle to productivity.  

Poor leadership, resulting in the lack of a top-down culture, is another cause for concern. Senior leaders need to make sure that people are aligned, emphasising that alignment must address accountability and provide a shared mission, or north star. You need to get everybody excited about the vision and the goal of what you’re trying to achieve.   

Companies that thrive build a culture where the vision is clear and inspiring across all business levels. Those that prosper have culturally set the bar high and aligned it to what matters most to the business. By making this vision super simple and exciting, you create a unifying sense of purpose that drives teams to work toward shared goals.   

Such success comes down to organisational design: collaboration, cooperation, and alignment across different teams are non-negotiable.   

How can you overcome this?    

  • Define and communicate a clear, inspiring vision that’s shared across all levels of the business to foster a unifying sense of purpose and direction.  
  • Create a culture of accountability by setting measurable KPIs that reflect each team’s contributions to the broader vision and align incentives across divisions to ensure all teams are working collaboratively toward shared objectives.  
  • Invest in organisational design that promotes collaboration, including restructuring workflows, implementing tools that improve communication and regular cross-departmental meetings to reinforce alignment. 

4. Poor data maintenance and cleanliness    

Bad data costs companies an average revenue loss of 20% per year.  

Poor data maintenance and cleanliness lead to outdated, unusable insights that you cannot make business decisions based on. So, how do you enrich data to obtain meaningful, actionable insights? Well, to do that, you’ve got to keep that data clean and enhanced on a regular basis.   

At Cyance, data played a very specific role for our customers – finding prospects and accounts that demonstrated a high intent to buy their products. If you work off old data you could miss the boat, enter the conversation too late or waste time and budget trying to attract and engage with the wrong people in the buying group. For us, we discovered that the optimal time window for this process was around 12 – 6 weeks. 

Other businesses, manufacturers for instance, are more likely to want data to improve operations, flag maintenance issues or react quickly to market conditions. They’re going to want data in real time, meaning that governance and quality checks will have to be automated as manually coding data loading is slow to deliver, hard to manage and inefficient to maintain. 

Other businesses might be looking more long-term, so would want a broad spread of data to be able to predict business demands in the future. The time scale for cleaning data, therefore, is job dependent. But the need to stay on top of data maintenance never changes. As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out’. 

How can you avoid this?   

  • Have regular data reviews to identify and remove outdated or inaccurate information.    
  • Implement automation tools to maintain consistency in data quality.    
  • Create processes that ensure all business lines use consistent, updated, and enriched data via a centralised data platform that enables seamless updates to ensure data remains relevant and comprehensible across teams.  

Finding the competitive edge   

I see it every day: the twin challenges of data integrity and compliance that demand urgent attention. Silos, misaligned cultures, and poor data compliance aren’t just minor issues — they’re the cracks through which our success can slip away. But by adopting unified strategies, ensuring rigorous data maintenance, and fostering a culture of accountability, I’ve seen how you can build a solid foundation for sustainable growth.  

For more information on how Salesforce can help with data management, see here

Unlock a Thriving Data Culture!

 Transform your business by fostering a thriving data culture. Learn how to improve data literacy and embed data in the flow of work. 

Get our bi-weekly newsletter for the latest business insights.