INDIA: Confluent, Inc., a data streaming pioneer, released its 2024 Data Streaming Report, showcasing how data streaming is reshaping Indian businesses by fostering innovation, accelerating AI adoption, and improving customer experiences. Surveying 508 IT leaders from medium to large Indian companies, the report underscores the vital role data streaming plays in unlocking data’s full potential for businesses.
The survey revealed that 95% of India’s IT leaders experienced significant returns of 2-10 times from data streaming initiatives, emphasizing real-time data’s crucial role in India’s digital economy. Additionally, 94% of Indian respondents rated data streaming as a top IT investment for 2024, ranking higher than the global average. This trend showcases India’s proactive stance on advanced data management and utilization.
In a highly dynamic Indian market, responsiveness is the key to unlocking competitive advantage. Slow, inconsistent, outdated, or ungoverned data is detrimental to success because it’s unreliable and can lead to bad decision-making. It’s imperative to leverage continuously streaming data to find insights so organizations can act efficiently and quickly.
Rubal Sahni, Area Vice President and Country Manager for India at Confluent said, “The growing internet penetration throughout India and a stable government are creating numerous opportunities for businesses, and also contributing to the growth of the startup ecosystem in India. With increased competition and a conducive business environment, more organizations are waking up to the importance of real-time data for delivering better customer experiences, driving AI/ML innovation, and unlocking new revenue streams. Our findings that data streaming is one of the top IT investment priorities for Indian firms echoes the increased demand we have seen for a real-time data streaming infrastructure. Data streaming technologies are delivering exceptional returns. We are dedicated to supporting Indian organizations in their journey, enabling them to leverage their data in real-time and create more value.”
Key takeaways from the report include:
Data Streaming Boosts ROI, Cybersecurity, and Innovation in Indian Businesses
As businesses learn to do more with less, proving the ROI of tech investments has become even more critical. The report shows that data streaming pays off across every industry and that organizations of all sizes are achieving value, despite limited resources.
- 95% of India’s IT leaders cite 2x to 10x return on data streaming investments.
- 96% stated that data streaming improved or is expected to improve cybersecurity and new products and services to customers.
- 95% improved or expected to improve product and service innovation when using AI/ML.
Data Streaming Propels India’s AI Adoption
For accurate AI results, companies prioritize trustworthy, real-time data in the right format. Retrieval augmented generation (RAG) connects LLM models to specific data, enhancing access control and reducing errors. Data streaming supplements RAG workflows with up-to-date information, optimizing data for AI applications.
- 98% are confident that data streaming eases AI/ML adoption
- 85% state investments in GenAI will trend up in the coming two years.
- 74% cite data streaming platforms extensively or significantly fuel AI progress by building the real-time data foundation needed to propel these initiatives.
- 92% note data streaming platforms keep track of data fed into models for governance purposes.
Data Streaming Simplifies the Development of Data Products, Boosting Reusability and Cost Savings
Organizations are increasingly exploring structuring data into data products to enhance accessibility, governance, and usability. These products are refined, governed, and easily discoverable assets that are contextualized, trustworthy, and reusable for various needs, enabling cost and time savings through data reuse.
- 92% of India’s respondents are investing in data streaming platforms to drive their data goals, which include data product creation.
- 80% cite significant benefits from embracing a data product approach.
- Notable benefits of data products are:
- 98% cite data products as compelling or worthwhile in enabling more confident data sharing across business units.
- 92% note more meaningful cost allocation or charging based on usage metrics.
- 88% state more robust risk management.
Data Streaming Platforms Solve Challenges of Data Accessibility and Prevent Data Silos
Siloed data can hinder a company’s ability to operate efficiently and make data-driven decisions. To overcome this, businesses need to move toward a data streaming platform that establishes a central nervous system unifying their data.
The 2024 Data Streaming Report shows that data streaming platforms help address data accessibility challenges by connecting applications and systems in real time. This ensures data is always available where needed, allowing companies to focus on accelerating innovation instead of navigating complex data connections.
For India:
- 82% of IT leaders cite five or more data-related challenges impacting their organizations, including siloed data and governance-related problems.
- The most common problems data streaming can solve include:
- 92% say data streaming helps break down data silos in most or many situations
- 90% note data streaming helps to access existing data
- 84% cite data streaming helps discover existing data
- 81% state data streaming helps address governance-related problems
Learn More About the Report
The report is based on a survey by Freeform Dynamics and Radma Research, gathering 4,110 responses from IT leaders in companies with 500+ employees from 12 countries. Respondents come from various industries and are familiar with data streaming.
Additional Resources:
- Download the 2024 Data Streaming report
- Learn more about the report on the Confluent blog
- Download a complimentary copy of the full Forrester Wave™: Streaming Data Platforms, Q4 2023 report
