Building the Case for Data Investment

Is data a line item on your IT budget this year? The reality is that your data is already costing you—whether or not you know it.

Poor data quality leads to lost revenue, operational inefficiencies, and missed opportunities. Yet, many businesses fail to measure its financial impact, treating data investment as an afterthought rather than a strategic priority. By the numbers:

Poor data quality costs organizations at least $12.9 million annually on average. Yet, nearly 60% of businesses don’t track the cost of bad data and have no visibility into how much revenue they lose due to inaccurate information. (Gartner)
It’s estimated that less than 0.5% of all data is ever analyzed and used, and if a typical Fortune 1000 company improved data accessibility by just 10%, it could generate an additional $65 million in net income. (Forrester)
In a survey of 500 IT decision-makers, 82% reported reworking data analytics projects due to poor data quality. 76% admitted missing out on revenue opportunities, while 72% saw a negative impact on customer engagement due to a lack of timely, accurate data insights (Vanson Bourne).

Companies that take a proactive approach to data management see higher efficiency, better decision-making, and stronger financial performance. But securing buy-in for data investment requires more than citing industry trends.

How to Build a Case for Data Investment

Identify Priorities

"If everything is important, then nothing is." Not all data is equally important, so to build a strong case for data investment, focus on the data that drives the most business value and carries the highest risk if inaccurate or unavailable.

Categorize data into centralized, regional, and local levels to determine governance needs and accountability.
Identify the priorities that impact revenue, decision-making, customer experience, and compliance by identifying the data sets.
Start with high-impact areas and scale efforts strategically rather than overhauling everything at once.

Evaluate the Key Pillars

To secure buy-in for data investment, your plan should meet five essential qualifications. Ask yourself:

Accessible: Can the right people retrieve and use the data when they need it? If access is a challenge, the data’s value diminishes, no matter how accurate it is.
Timely: Is the data up to date? Outdated information leads to poor decisions and missed opportunities. Regular validation and updates are critical for maintaining relevance.
Impactful: Does the data directly support strategic goals, customer interactions, or compliance needs? If it doesn’t drive business value, leadership won’t see it as a priority.
Accurate: Is the data reliable? Even the most accessible and timely information is useless if it’s wrong. Business teams should take ownership of accuracy, with IT ensuring proper governance and validation.
Sustainable: Can the organization realistically maintain data quality within existing resources? A data strategy must be scalable and cost-effective, not just a one-time fix.

Quantify the Impact of Data Investment

The key question for obtaining buy-in will always be: how will this investment impact the company’s bottom line?

Link data quality to revenue, efficiency, and risk reduction. Show how poor data leads to lost sales, wasted spending, operational inefficiencies, and compliance risks.
Quantify the ROI of data investment. Use real metrics like increased conversion rates, improved customer retention, reduced operational costs, and fewer compliance penalties to demonstrate the financial value.
Present a business case with clear KPIs. Show expected improvements in sales forecasting accuracy, customer segmentation, marketing attribution, and productivity gains from reducing manual data cleanup.

Build Your Case for Data Investment with Entech

Optimizing your data practices requires both strategic planning and technical expertise. Entech helps organizations develop and manage data frameworks that align with business goals, ensure compliance, and scale with evolving needs.

Is your organization ready to maximize the value of its data? Contact us today, and let's take a look at your practices and opportunities together.