CONWAY, Ark.-- September 24, 2026 --Acxiom, the connected data and technology foundation for the world's leading brands, today released new research conducted with Forbes Insights that found enterprises have largely accomplished generating data insights and are now focused on creating the connections needed to turn those insights into action.
The study, From Data-Rich to Decision-Ready: How to Unlock Your Data Potential, surveyed hundreds of U.S. business leaders across industries. More than half indicated that they consider their organizations mature at putting data into action. At nearly the same rate, 60% say data-driven insights often fail to translate into execution and business outcomes. This gap is attributed to organizational silos and difficulty sharing data across teams and platforms being the leading barriers, as cited by 59% of business leaders. Furthermore, 92% report breakdowns somewhere in their data-driven decision making.
"The encouraging finding here is that enterprises are increasingly investing in the data foundation they need," said Jarrod Martin, CEO of Acxiom. "Amidst constant change, the next critical path is connecting insights, systems, and teams so action can happen at scale. That's where data investments translate into competitive advantage."
Findings from the research reveal three ways forward for enterprises to reimagine the impact of their data:
1. Bridge the silos between the teams that find insights and the teams that act on them.
Most business leaders already use data for at least 40% of their key business decisions, but 59% say they struggle to scale that practice across the business. This reveals the opportunity to make a single source of truth accessible across the organization so data-driven decision making becomes standard practice in every function rather than strong in a few.
2. Align data strategy with business goals.
Respondents indicated that breakdowns are most likely to occur between regions and markets (33%) as well as between teams and functions (31%). Additionally, 48% of leaders say they lack a single trusted view of the customer. To best address this, leaders should start by defining what their business needs from their data, then build the structure, processes, teams, and governance to support it. By giving business leaders easy access to data-derived insights, companies can better translate them into business outcomes.
3. Build for speed without trading away accuracy.
Many companies’ systems are not yet built to respond in real-time, and approval processes often complicate timely decision-making. An accessible and interoperable data foundation removes the tradeoff between speed and accuracy, making it possible to act in the moments that matter to the customer with information teams can trust.
“Enterprises don't need more data, they need a foundation that connects data and identity through the business,” said Sean Muzzy, President of Acxiom. “When organizations connect data, identity, and activation, they create the conditions for faster decisions, differentiated customer experiences, and greater returns on every technology investment.”
The research also underscores the growing importance of identity as the connective layer for AI-powered decisioning, helping organizations connect customer signals across channels, activate insights with greater confidence, and deliver more consistent customer experiences.
The full research, including detailed findings on identity fragmentation and where breakdowns occur across teams, regions and systems, is available here.
About the Research
The survey was conducted by Forbes Insights in May and June 2026 among 300 U.S.-based business leaders across automotive, consumer packaged goods, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, insurance, media and entertainment, retail and e-commerce, technology, telecommunications, and travel and hospitality.
About Acxiom
Acxiom puts data to work, solving complex challenges for the world’s leading brands and agencies. As the connected data and identity foundation for Omnicom (OMC), Acxiom unifies, connects, and prepares data for AI-driven marketing and decision-making, maximizing technology investments. As leaders in data ethics and governance, Acxiom brings a privacy-first approach to serving clients globally, with locations in the U.S., UK, Germany, Poland, and Mexico. Connect with Acxiom on LinkedIn and discover more at Acxiom.com.
Contacts
Rachel Finfrock, Content & Communications Specialist at Acxiom, rachel.finfrock@acxiom.com.