When it comes to making decisions about key business operations such as marketing campaigns or sales strategies, many firms may be hampered because management personnel do not have all the most relevant information available to them.

This is according to new research by Kovarus, reported by Smart Data Collective, which noted that even when businesses do have the right business intelligence information available to them, problems with inaccurate reports and a lack of visibility hinder their effectiveness.

Fewer than four out of ten managers use reports to make important decisions, the survey revealed. This means many investments made without this knowledge have very little chance for success because decision-makers are unaware of the most relevant factors that could influence their thinking.

The survey noted that frequent problems include information being either inaccurate or not easily accessible. Nearly two-thirds of decision-makers also stated they do not have the time, technology or funding to make improvements to how their organisations manage their data internally.

Therefore, it could be hugely beneficial for companies to investigate platforms that can guarantee the most up-to-date intelligence and provide it in a streamlined, easy-to-use format.

If businesses can successfully implement such solutions into their organisations, they could be in a much better position to evaluate the marketplace and spot any opportunities that they might otherwise have missed.

Businesses that are still using traditional tools for gathering important information for use in their marketing or sales decision-making could find they do not end up with a complete picture of the situation, particularly if they have multiple departments each performing their own research that do not communicate effectively with one another.

By having the right tools to pull all of this into a single system with an easy to understand interface, many of these problems can be overcome.

At a time when economic activity is still depressed, being able to identify opportunities faster than rivals could make or break the success of a company.