According to HP an incredible 92% of top IT decision makers in Europe do not feel that their organisation is exploiting the competitive advantages offered by information management. In fact, respondents who took part in the 2008 Pressure Point Index survey were pretty dissatisfied overall with both the quality and delivery of information across the board: 67% admitted it was 'poor and inconsistent' while 69% felt they did not get the 'right amount of information to make business decisions.' Only 7% claimed they had the access to all the information they required.

The findings were published at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Amsterdam, where Valerie Logan, worldwide leader, Information Management, Consulting & Integration, HP Services commented "Many companies are sitting on data goldmines, but lack the necessary investment and ability to extract value from the information. While senior IT executives recognise the potential competitive advantage contained in the data, they are hampered from investing in comprehensive information management programs by a number of factors, including complexity and management alignment".

Indeed, despite a clear recognition and understanding of the issue and its importance, many respondents felt unable to turn data into business insight and exploit its business potential for a number of reasons. Right at the top were the 80% who felt the implementation of new systems was too complex, while 75% agreed it was difficult to build a business case for the investment and 74% simply blamed dispersed and poorly managed data depositories.

Perhaps most worryingly, some 67% of senior IT decision makers felt that the IT department was still perceived as a cost burden to the business. A variety of reasons were given for this view, including a lack of understanding amongst senior management of the benefits IT can bring to a business, and the fact that the IT department does not have a strong enough voice within the organisation.

"There is a clear need in large enterprises for CIOs to take action and ensure Information Management is placed at the heart of the business, and managed as a core strategic competence. Demonstrating the business case for effective Information Management and the unprecedented value it can provide in this information-based economy is an obvious way for CIOs to move up the value chain with their business counterparts. HP has a proven track record of helping our customers to develop and deliver BI strategies that return business value from start to finish" said Logan.