Reshaping Business Priorities for Planet and Profit

Rhea-AI Summary

New research by Cloudera indicates a significant shift in business priorities, with 26% of decision-makers prioritizing ESG investments over product development and financial growth. Nearly half (49%) of knowledge workers believe data should focus on community benefits, a view shared by 52% of business leaders. The study also reveals that 81% of knowledge workers advocate for using AI for sustainable practices. However, only 31% of leaders actively implement these technologies. Moreover, 91% of decision-makers commit to employee reskilling amid increased automation, reflecting an emerging focus on sustainability alongside profitability.

Positive

• 26% of decision-makers prioritize ESG investments over product development (24%) and financial growth (21%).
• 81% of knowledge workers support using AI for sustainable practices.
• 91% of business decision-makers plan ongoing investment in employee reskilling.

Negative

• Only 31% of decision-makers are actively implementing ESG technologies, indicating a significant gap.
• Failing to act on sustainability could lead to employee attrition, with 23% of knowledge workers likely to leave.

Business decision makers and knowledge workers agree that at least 50% of the data their company uses on a day-to-day basis should be focused on doing good for the communities it serves

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Cloudera, the enterprise data cloud company, reveals more than one quarter (26%) of business decision makers are now putting increasing investment in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) ahead of developing new products/services (24%) or accelerating financial growth (21%). Additionally, knowledge workers believe as much as 49% of the data their business uses on a day-to-day basis should be focused on doing good for the communities it serves. This is a sentiment 52% of business decision makers agree with — a clear indication that profit and ESG are no longer mutually exclusive pursuits.

These findings are revealed in Cloudera's Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study, which surveyed 2,213 enterprise business decision makers — including 54% C-Suite representation — and 10,880 knowledge workers in the USA, EMEA, India and APAC. It shows that ESG is identified as a top priority for business leaders and those who fail to act for the good of communities put business growth and talent  at huge risk. The study also examines the shift in attitude towards AI, Machine Learning (ML) and Data Analytics across enterprise decision makers, including C-Suite, and knowledge workers. The data shows that all the pieces are in place for this to be the right moment for companies to accelerate their AI/ML strategy.

Failing to act for social good puts business growth, and talent, at risk

Almost a quarter (24%) of business decision makers and over one in five (22%) knowledge workers believe that their company should be publicly supporting sustainable business practices. In addition, the vast majority of knowledge workers (81%) argue there is a need to use AI to deliver more sustainable business practices that benefit both their organization and the communities it serves.

But that said, less than a third (31%) of business decision makers are active regarding the implementation of these technologies and have a limited understanding of how they work. Companies that address these gaps now gain a real competitive advantage in the battle for customers and talent. If businesses truly want to embed sustainability at their core, leaders must start to use data to deliver more sustainable outcomes – and quickly. Failure to act and 23% of knowledge workers and 27% of business decision makers believe employees would leave the business. This could be a business destroying move amidst a global talent shortage, especially if all of a company's competitors are addressing the gap.

"It's my sincere belief that using big data and AI to make more sustainable business decisions will be a critical aspect of future competitiveness," said Erica Orange, VP at The Future Hunters. "A core part of this will come down to rethinking business success metrics to go beyond profit-driven metrics and focus on real environmental impact."

Fear of losing jobs to AI is replaced by a focus on investment in reskilling

The research findings also dispel the long-held belief that workers were afraid of AI taking their jobs. An explosion in the volume of data now available to businesses has made AI/ML a common thread to many job roles and a powerful ally. Over half of knowledge workers say their daily tasks have been augmented or automated by AI (55%), ML (51%) and Data Analytics (63%) in the last 12 months. The biggest benefits of this have been saving time (37%) and allowing them/their team to focus more on strategic work (35%). What's more, 80% of knowledge workers are now comfortable taking on a new role due to AI/ML/Data Analytics.

To capitalize on this, businesses have to do more and invest in employee reskilling. Nine in ten (91%) business decision makers said their organization will commit to continuous investment in reskilling employees as more tasks are automated. But the investment in people can't stop there. Companies also need to make employees partners in the upskilling and reskilling processes to ensure a level playing field for staff.

"The results of this study reveal a new wave of economics, focused on doing equally great things for profit, planet, and people - driven by automation and AI - is emerging," said Mick Hollison, President, Cloudera. "For business leaders this means it's time to refocus how they think about technology investment — identifying not only the data that will support growth, but also the technology that will help employees and communities gain meaningful access to it. At Cloudera, we work with our customers to transform their economic output with Data Analytics and AI."

Notes to Editors

About the Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study 
Both the business decision maker and knowledge worker portions of the research were conducted by Sapio Research, an independent market research consultancy based in London, UK. 2,213 business decision makers, including 54% from the C-Suite, working at companies with 1,000+ employees, 400 IT decision makers, completed an online study during August 2021. At the same time, the knowledge worker — end users who are in full-time employment with access to technology as part of their day-to-day jobs — study was also conducted amongst those employed at organizations with 1,000+ employees during August 2021.

The following number of respondents were consulted in each mentioned market:

Knowledge workers: 
USA 1007 
UK 1003 
Germany 1000 
France 1000 
Italy 1001 
Spain 1006 
Korea 204 
Japan 1005 
China 1005 
Singapore 200 
Indonesia 200

Australia 163 
New Zealand 37 
India 1008 
South Africa 513 
UAE 528

Business decision makers: 
USA 200 
UK 200 
Germany 200 
France 200 
Italy 150 
Spain 150 
Korea 107 
Japan 100

China 202 
Singapore 100 
Indonesia 101
Australia 113 
New Zealand 37 
India 200 
South Africa 78 
UAE 75

Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study Media Assets:

• Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study Study — please note that the report contains extensive comments from Erica Orange, VP of The Future Hunters, one of the world's leading futurist consulting firms

About Cloudera 
At Cloudera, we believe that data can make what is impossible today, possible tomorrow. We empower people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. Cloudera delivers an enterprise data cloud for any data, anywhere, from the Edge to AI. Powered by the relentless innovation of the open source community, Cloudera advances digital transformation for the world's largest enterprises. Learn more at Cloudera.com.

Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Cloudera, Inc.

FAQ

What percentage of decision-makers prioritize ESG investments according to Cloudera's study?

26% of business decision-makers prioritize ESG investments over developing new products or financial growth.

How many knowledge workers believe their data should focus on community benefits?

49% of knowledge workers believe that their data should focus on doing good for the communities they serve.

What commitment did 91% of business decision-makers make regarding employee training?

91% of business decision-makers committed to ongoing investment in reskilling employees as tasks become automated.

What risk do companies face if they fail to act on sustainability initiatives?

Companies risk losing employees, with 23% of knowledge workers stating they would leave if their company does not support sustainable practices.

What percentage of decision-makers actively implement ESG technologies?

Only 31% of decision-makers are actively implementing technologies related to ESG.