๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฌ% ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ: ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ
We are living through a paradox in Data & Analytics.
The tools have never been better. With platforms like Azure Synapse and Microsoft Fabric, we can spin up enterprise-grade infrastructure in minutes. Yet, industry data consistently shows that ๐๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฌ% ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น to deliver their expected ROI.
Why?
For my doctoral dissertation, I investigated this specific gap in enterprises. I wanted to know why organizations with the same access to "perfect" technology still struggle to turn data into decision-making power.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: We are suffering from a "Socio-Technical Gap."
While the cloud has lowered the technical barrier to entry, it has dramatically raised the organizational barrier to success. In the on-premise era, the friction was hardware. In the cloud era, the friction is ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐.
My research identified that successful implementations don't happen because of a specific tool. They happen because of six non-technical Critical Success Factors (CSFs), specifically:
โข ๐๐
๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ (Real capital allocation, not just verbal support)
โข ๐ข๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ (Structuring teams for data consumption)
โข ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ (Trust-first frameworks)
If you are a CIO or CDO looking at your 2026 roadmap, ask yourself: Are we investing as much in our decision-culture as we are in our data pipeline?
Over the next few weeks, I will be breaking down the specific findings from my research and how to apply them to reduce risk in your data strategy.
Originally published on LinkedIn
