Member Article

Research: Alternative Data Use Increasing in UK Financial Services

New research has revealed the growing importance of alternative data to financial services organisations with nearly one in four professionals using it for insights every day. The research, commissioned by Bright Data, found a clear dependence on external data sources by those working in financial services sectors, including insurance, banking, and, hedge funds, with 95% of organisations relying on outside information to contribute towards business success in the past year.

The research findings also shed light on the obstacles faced when deploying and working with alternative data. A key issue highlighted was data analysis, with Three-quarters (75%) of banking professionals that use alternative data stated that this was their biggest challenge when it came to the data collected.

Additionally, the research found:

• Professionals from insurance companies (74%) and hedge funds (72%) find it much easier to integrate alternative data into decision-making than those at banks (57%).

• Sixty-four percent (64%) of organisations that rely on alternative data sources when building business strategies say that alternative data impacts their investing strategy, and 59% say it impacts their customer experience strategy.

• Seventy-seven percent (77%) of US respondents find it easy or very easy to integrate alternative data sources into decision-making, compared to only 49% of UK respondents.

“Gone are the days where quarterly earnings reports could be relied on as the main source of data for decision-making,” said Or Lenchner, CEO of Bright Data. “Financial services institutions are seeking out alternative/external data for up-to-the-minute insights that provide the most relevant, reliable and accurate data available. We’ve seen a significant increase in businesses within the space turning to Bright Data to collect alternative data. We look forward to continuing to empower these organisations with tailored online data that guides their most important business strategies and decisions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bright Data .