Data flaws cost large Australian firms AUD $493,000 a year

Australian organisations with more than 1,000 employees have experienced average financial losses of AUD $493,000 over the last year due to issues with data integrity, according to research commissioned by Iron Mountain.

The study, conducted in partnership with FT Longitude, surveyed senior executives at 500 large organisations worldwide and found data integrity flaws led to a global loss of AUD $22 billion. Respondents also highlighted that data integrity is central to being ready to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations.

The research indicates that Australian businesses are more acutely aware of challenges in AI readiness, with 42% of C-suite respondents citing workforce AI literacy as a top concern that could impact their ability to harness AI over the next one to three years. This figure is significantly above the global average of 28%, illustrating a particular focus on AI skills in the Australian market.

Despite these concerns, the report identifies substantial benefits from effective information management. Over the past 12 months, 84% of Australian respondents reported increases in revenue and profitability as a direct result of improvements in their information management—including better data collection, storage, and analytics. Globally, this 'good data dividend' translated to a combined total of AUD $115 trillion in revenue gains, with an average of AUD $3.4 billion per organisation.

The study emphasises the critical role of data integrity in preparing organisations for AI adoption. Nearly half (48%) of large Australian organisations attributed loss of competitive advantage to data integrity flaws, a figure notably higher than the global average of 29% and the highest among all countries surveyed.

Improving the extraction of insights from data emerged as a priority for Australian organisations, with 50% identifying it as a key focus area for achieving strategic ambitions in the coming year. This is 37% higher than the global average, and it places Australia ahead of markets such as the United Kingdom (44%) and the United States (39%).

Additionally, 36% of respondents identified having AI-ready data as the information management focus most likely to impact their organisation's strategic objectives over the next year. At the same time, while many companies report some success with AI initiatives, the consistency and value of these programmes remain a work in progress. In Australia, 92% of organisations say their AI readiness strategies have so far benefited their companies—14 percentage points above the global average. However, only 34% see these activities as a crucial part of their competitive advantage, and 58% describe AI initiatives as providing occasional rather than consistent benefits.

Narasimha Goli, Chief Technology Officer at Iron Mountain, addressed the increasing imperative for high data quality in AI systems, stating: "With the rise of open-source and specialised AI models, data integrity, transparency and trust are more critical than ever. At Iron Mountain, we are investing in solutions such as our Iron Mountain InSight Digital Experience Platform (DXP) to help our customers get their information ready for use in generative AI and other AI-powered applications. This enables organisations to illuminate dark, unstructured data by automating the processes for extracting and organising meta data at speed and scale, and with a high degree of accuracy.

"By leveraging technology like this to ensure their data is being sourced responsibly, organisations can harness the full potential of their information to drive intelligent decision-making and unlock new growth opportunities."

The research also identified a group of leading organisations globally that are benefiting the most from information management enhancements. These organisations implement robust data integrity and accuracy frameworks, including processes to eliminate redundant, obsolete, or trivial (ROT) data and automate data extraction. Among these leaders, 96% use AI dashboards to explain outcomes and data lineage to non-technical stakeholders, and they are 16% more likely than others to employ AI nutrition labels that verify data quality. Furthermore, 55% are adopting AI technologies to improve unstructured data sources for greater AI readiness.

Mithu Bhargava, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Solutions at Iron Mountain, commented on these practices: "Smart information management is key to capitalising on the growing AI opportunity, and Iron Mountain's research shows that a commitment to responsibly sourcing the data for AI models is a hallmark of leading organisations. With AI fast becoming a necessity, this data quality-first mindset is now essential for every organisation."

The survey was conducted between December 2024 and January 2025, including responses from C-suite and C-1 executives in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, across sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods, financial services, public sector, healthcare, IT, legal services, media and entertainment, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, retail, telecoms, and utilities.