In boardrooms across the globe, executives are gleefully signing off on multi-million-dollar investments in data infrastructure. Big Data! AI! Machine Learning! But here’s the inconvenient truth they’re overlooking. Without a data-literate workforce, these shiny new toys are as useful as a Ferrari in a traffic jam.

There is often a mismatch between data infrastructure investments and data literacy.

The Elephant in the Data Center

Let’s cut to the chase: data literacy is a change management problem in disguise. Organizations are rushing headlong into data transformation without preparing their cultures for the seismic shift that needs to happen. They're like overeager parents buying their toddler a bicycle without first teaching them to walk.

A study by Accenture found that only 21% of employees are confident in their data literacy skills. That’s not just a skills gap; it's a chasm threatening to swallow your ROI whole.

The $100 Million Question

Consider this: Global spending on big data and analytics solutions is projected to reach $274.3 billion by 2022. Yet, how much are these same companies investing in ensuring their workforce can effectively use these tools?

Here’s a thought: What if we reframed data literacy not as a ‘nice-to-have’ training program, but as an insurance policy for your data infrastructure investment?

The Healthcare Wake-Up Call

Let’s take a page from the healthcare sector, where the stakes are literally life and death. A Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association study found that improved data literacy among healthcare professionals led to better clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

The inconvenient truth: data literacy initiatives often get sidelined even in healthcare, where the benefits are clear as day. Why? Because organizations fail to:

Drive awareness of the critical need for data skills
Cultivate desire for data-driven decision making
Develop knowledge beyond just the IT department
Nurture abilities through hands-on application
Reinforce the change to protect their investment

Sound familiar? It should. It’s Change Management 101. CDOs and data leaders must take a holistic approach to managing data initiatives from inception to completion, aligning with their end-to-end responsibilities.

The $100 Million Insurance Policy

Now, let’s talk about numbers. What would a comprehensive data literacy program cost if you're spending $100 million on data infrastructure (and many large companies are spending far more)? $1 million? $2 million? Even at $5 million, we're talking about a 5% ‘insurance policy’ on your investment.

Suddenly, investing in people’s skills doesn't look like a cost center anymore. It looks like the bargain of the century.

The Real Cost of Inaction

But wait, there’s more! The cost of NOT investing in data literacy is far higher than you might think. A report by Gartner suggests that through 2025, 80% of organizations seeking to scale digital business will fail because they do not take a modern approach to data and analytics governance.

In other words, your fancy new data infrastructure could end up being the world's most expensive paperweight.

The Path Forward: Embrace the Human Element

So, what’s the solution? It's time to give data literacy the attention it deserves. This means:

Making data literacy a core part of your change management strategy
Investing in tailored, role-specific data literacy programs
Creating a culture that values and rewards data-driven decision-making
Measuring and incentivizing improvements in data literacy

Remember, in the age of AI and machine learning, the irony is that the human element becomes more critical, not less. Machines can crunch numbers, but it takes data-literate humans to ask the right questions and make the right decisions.

The Choice Is Yours

As we stand on the brink of a data-driven future, the question isn't whether you can afford to invest in data literacy. The question is: can you afford not to?

Your multi-million-dollar data infrastructure is waiting. Will it be a game-changer or a cautionary tale? The choice – and the investment – is yours.

References:

Accenture. (2020). Closing the Data Value Gap: How to Become Data-Driven and Pivot to the New.
From this link, referencing a paid report: International Data Corporation. (2019). Worldwide Big Data and Analytics Software Forecast, 2021–2025.
Fridsma, D. B. (2018). Health informatics: a required skill for 21st century clinicians. BMJ, 362, k3043.
Haskell, C. (2024). Driving Data Projects: A comprehensive guide. BCS.
Gartner. (2021). Gartner Top 10 Data and Analytics Trends for 2021.