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Data has always been integral to enterprise business, but the rise of digital transformation has created a new sense of urgency around the ways in which it is managed, analyzed and governed. This newfound emphasis around data has placed the role of chief data officer (CDO) squarely in the business spotlight. In 2012, only 12% of large, data-intensive firms employed a CDO, whereas 65% do today, according to a NewVantage Partners survey.

A new report published by Expert.ai and prepared by The AI Journal surveyed data and analytics decision makers to reveal how teams are faring as they attempt to guide their companies towards AI success.

This report reveals that nine out of ten CDOs agree that management of unstructured language data — including text from business documents and emails — must be addressed in the next 12 months. Yet, few are prepared with the natural language processing (NLP) and natural language understanding (NLU) experience and tools needed to make a transition work.

Graphic. Top pain points for data teams. 96% said delivering business impact now through AI. 92% said data security. 91% said managing unstructured language data. 90% said managing cost, complexity, and risk. 89% said regulatory compliance. 89% said data access and reporting. 83% said building a scalable strategic capability. And 81% said AI understanding, trust and explainability.

There is growing realization across enterprises that unstructured language data is not merely a byproduct of operations but a vital resource to be mined for actionable insights. The ability to extract value from unstructured data is what will separate businesses from their competition via better Net Promoter Scores and reduced manual document handling and extraction costs. NLP and NLU technology have been proven the key to doing so.

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Despite this, only 8% of data teams have completed NLP and NLU projects within their business that would enable them to fully unlock the value of their unstructured language data. More than a third (34%) of data teams have started activating plans for NLP projects. Nearly a quarter (24%) are still defining their plans but are not ready to activate them.

The survey was conducted among data and analytics decision makers across the U.S.and Europe. The interviews were led by Sapio Research in October 2021.

Read the full report by Expert.ai.

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