56% of finance data leaders fear failure to adopt AI will result in competitive disadvantage
Finance data leaders continue to face ongoing challenges with the rapid evolution of technology as 72% of organisations report they have implemented some AI-based solutions, yet only 39% have embedded them company-wide.
Data leaders anticipate AI-led benefits but struggle with institutional constraints
The findings in the Ataccama Data Trust Report 2025: Trustworthy AI Strategies for Data Visionaries indicate blockers for AI adoption include data privacy and security concerns (47%), high maintenance costs (32%) and steep implementation costs (33%).
Despite this, the consequences of not implementing AI weigh heavily on 56% of finance data leaders and, in particular, 72% of data strategy decision-makers, who worry it will cost them their competitive edge.
Among the anticipated benefits of AI, 51% believe it will transform customer services in finance.
Finance data leaders are also optimistic about AI’s impact for transforming product and services innovation (43%) and marketing and sales (33%), which indicates why exploring AI is a data management priority for data strategy primary decision-makers (54%).
Trustworthy AI relies on clean, quality data, so it’s unsurprising that heads of data cite improving data quality and accuracy (46%) to be an immediate priority, and also report that managing large volumes of data (31%) is among the top challenges finance CDOs face in their organisations today.
Mike McKee, chief executive officer, Ataccama, said, “In today’s AI-powered world, having trustworthy data will enable organisations to use AI tools to accelerate outcomes like operational efficiency, customer service innovation, and competitive differentiation, and transform external forces like regulatory compliance into strategic advantages. For this reason, data trust is not just the foundation of successful AI implementation – it’s the engine that supports thriving, future-ready businesses. Improving data quality and accuracy emerges as a top priority for business and data leaders next year, as organisations capitalise on data quality to ensure better internal reporting, fuel improved decision-making capabilities, and seize competitive advantage.”
“With 77% of companies implementing some form of AI reporting successful projects, it’s clear that AI investment promises to deliver results for most organisations. This indicates that those yet to scale AI usage or build robust strategies risk falling behind competitors who are already using AI effectively to drive efficiency, innovation and growth. The variation between sector-specific drivers and anticipated benefits of AI illustrates how organisations are starting to apply it to specific industry use cases such as fraud detection in banking or improved diagnostics in healthcare. Ataccama is in a strong position to help these organisations make decisions faster with trusted data with our Ataccama ONE unified platform,” said Jay Limburn, chief product officer, Ataccama.
Read the full report: https://www.ataccama.com/ebook/data-trust-report
