Irish companies report data systems overload amid ‘content chaos’

Irish businesses are struggling to manage the plethora of data management systems required to do business in 2024, a new survey has indicated, with many hoping that artificial intelligence will allow them to streamline their processes in the future.

Conducted by document and information management consultancy Convergent Ireland, the poll of about 100 businesses across a diverse range of industries from pharmaceuticals to construction suggests many firms are drowning in information.

Some 63 per cent of survey respondents reported using up to 10 systems and applications to store information while 24 per cent said they use more than that.

About 82 per cent of businesses polled said that finding relevant information was the most difficult aspect, while 63 per cent admitted they could not trust that it would be the correct version if they happened to find it. Slightly more than two-fifths of businesses, meanwhile, said they are still heavily reliant on paper documentation.

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“This fragmentation of systems contributes to significant numbers of information silos that lead to duplication, version, and information trust issues,” said Nik Healy, solutions director with Convergent Ireland.

“The disconnection of information, and related content chaos and sprawl across paper, spreadsheets, systems, folders and emails prohibits information from flowing. This results in inefficiencies and manual processes, and also restricts reporting and business intelligence opportunities.”

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Against this backdrop, almost all of the survey respondents said they plan to invest to solve the issues and allow information to flow seamlessly through their organisations. Some 84 per cent said they would use AI technologies to streamline their processes.

However, this is only achievable once “content chaos” issues have been overcome, said Mr Healy.

“AI has the potential to dramatically improve business processes and operations. But it’s important to note that the huge potential of AI can only be leveraged once the existing content chaos issues have been tackled and addressed. AI solutions generate and process huge volumes of information, and organisations must have an information management foundation fit for purpose to cater for this volume.”

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