New Report Reveals Widespread Data Distrust Threatening Operational Efficiency

 Stibo Systems, a global leader in master data management (MDM), today released its latest report, ‘Through the Storm: How System Trust Builds Operational Resilience’ The report reveals a significant trust gap among manufacturing business leaders in enterprise data and systems. Most leaders report challenges such as siloed platforms, manual workarounds and inconsistent information that hinder efficiency and delay transformation.

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“It’s clear that 2025 will be a pivotal year for operational transformation, with 67% of business leaders we surveyed making efficiency a top priority,” said James van Pelt, Manufacturing Practice Lead at Stibo Systems. “But efficiency isn’t just about speed – it’s about trust. Our research shows that without reliable systems and interoperable data, even the most advanced technologies fall short.”

Stibo Systems surveyed 500 U.S. operational business leaders at the senior manager level or higher, all with operational decision-making authority, across manufacturing, CPG, distribution, retail, life sciences, automotive and aerospace and defense to explore the prioritization of interoperability in their tech stacks for 2025 and beyond.

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The survey found that only 25% of operations leaders fully trust the data in their systems.

Additional key findings from the survey include:

• Manuel data burden: 86% of employees spend over 30% of their day on manual data tasks, slowing productivity and decision-making
• System fragmentation: 76% of organizations still work with mismatched systems, and 67% report difficulty syncing incompatible technologies
• Inconsistent data: 50% of respondents cited inconsistency as the main reason for data distrust

“This report is a wake-up call. Business leaders know that without a unified data foundation, investments in AI, automation and digital transformation will never reach their full potential,” said Stibo Systems CEO Adrian Carr. “At Stibo Systems, we’re helping organizations build the data confidence they need to move faster, adapt smarter and scale with resilience. Trust in data isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ – it’s the foundation of future-ready operations.”

These findings highlight the growing need for data interoperability and modern MDM platforms that reduce fragmentation, strengthen trust and accelerate enterprise agility.

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