German companies are making significant progress towards a data-driven economy, with 12 percent saying that data-driven business models contribute exclusively or very strongly to their business success. This figure is expected to rise to 22 percent within two years. However, a significant number of companies say that data remains largely unused, with only 7 percent assuming they fully exploit its potential, and 43 percent saying potential is not being fully exploited, while 21 percent fear it won’t be. One reason for this is that fewer companies want to share their data with others, with the number of data providers dropping from 21 percent to 17 percent.
Of the companies not sharing data, 47 percent are concerned it could be used against their will, 17 percent believe hostile states could benefit directly, and 15 percent fear revealing trade secrets. Over half of those surveyed believe data protection doesn’t allow for sharing, although this has dropped from 50 percent a year ago. Companies that act as data providers mostly do so to generate sales (35 percent), get data from others themselves (34 percent), or win new customers (30 percent).
However, for almost 40 percent, altruistic motives play a role, with companies wanting to enable better solutions, for example, for social problems. A fifth are simply obliged to provide data. While data sharing is still not an option for some, there has been an increase in companies that benefit from sharing data, with 51 percent saying that it contributes very much or fairly strongly to their business success, up from 43 percent in 2022. Companies increasingly see the potential of data rooms, with 8 percent of those surveyed already using virtual platforms for secure exchange and another 19 percent planning to use them.
