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Data capabilities: bold maturity ambitions within grasp for Middle Eastern companies The private sector in the Middle East has set bold ambitions to achieve top-tier data maturity levels by 2023. Reaching these ambitions requires the vast majority of companies in the region to advance significantly, and those that develop a substantial maturity build-up across all capabilities give themselves a huge advantage. Furthermore, Middle Eastern companies’ ambitions would place them as the most mature region, indicating the highest data capability increase globally. Given the accelerating pace of technological development and the ubiquity of data, that advantage can become self-reinforcing over time, as companies become smarter in their use of data and more efficient in how they tailor future investments. Conversely, laggards may find that the performance gap becomes too large to overcome.
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eeping pace with the industry
In BCG’s recent, third, Data Capability Maturity Assessment (DACAMA) survey, the Middle East ranks close to leading regions for most industries yet drops far behind in the least mature ones. Approximately 1,100 companies participated worldwide, with around 50 companies from the Middle East. When it comes to building data capabilities, most companies worldwide are making steady headway. Yet our comprehensive survey shows that while some are gaining a clear advantage from data, many still fall short of their goals—leading to a growing advantage for leaders. Generally, companies in the Middle East keep pace with more data-mature industries—technology, telecom, healthcare, and consumer—but are behind in less data-mature industries. For example, the energy industry’s maturity is almost 30% lower than other regions. Automotive and industrial companies are
Elias Baltassis, Partner & Director, BCG GAMMA, Lead for the Middle East 52
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