DATA AND ANALYTICS:
A New Driver of Performance and Valuation
How investors
and equity analysts
view the value of
companies’ advanced
information
strategies
October 2015
An executive briefing prepared
by Institutional Investor Research
and KPMG
. Contents
2
Foreword
3
Welcome to “the battlefield of the future”
5
Strategies for navigating disruption
6
Business strategy—not data—is the weak link
7
Demonstrate the business value of D&A strategy
8
Investors recognize the complexity of D&A
9
The road ahead for D&A
10 Methodology and further reading
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
1
. Foreword
If you’re reading this report, congratulations.
It’s likely you already understand the impact
that data and analytics (D&A) is having on
companies’ performance today. You also are
part of the fast growing majority of business
leaders who understand that D&A strategies
are increasingly part of a company’s broader
strategic business plan. In recent years, you
may well have seen D&A strategies become
“business as usual” in the C-Suite, throughout organizations, and among those who are
working directly with customers, channel
partners, and suppliers.
In an effort to expand the scope of thinking about
D&A, KPMG commissioned this forward-thinking
perspective into the value of data and analytics.
We wanted to broaden the concept of organizational
value and to understand how those who control
investment dollars view the value of data and analytics. Our hypothesis was that companies that invest strategically in D&A technologies and talent will
eventually improve business and operating models,
thus achieving stronger competitive positions and
market valuations.
Bradley Fisher
U.S.
Leader
Data & Analytics
KPMG in the US
+1 212 909-5498
bfisher@kpmg.com
Wilds Ross
Principal and Global
Advisory Leader
Data & Analytics
KPMG in the US
+1 703 962-5751
wildsross@kpmg.com
We wanted to understand how those
who control investment dollars view the
value of data and analytics.
KPMG worked with Institutional Investor Research
to survey and interview investors and sell-side
analysts in an effort to examine their views on the
use of data and analytics (D&A) by public companies.
Why this approach? Because we believe that no
one knows what moves share prices as well as institutional investors and the equity analysts who advise them. And we believe that this insight will help
guide our clients along a path to wiser decisions.
We sought to understand:
• How does D&A inform investors’ and analysts’
decision making?
• Do they see D&A as a source of revenue growth,
cost containment, product and business-model
innovation, risk management, or other factors?
• How do investors get information about companies’ ambitious use of data and technology?
• How well do companies explain their D&A
strategies to shareholders and analysts?
Christian Rast
Global Leader
Data & Analytics
KPMG International
+49 221 2073-1738
crast@kpmg.com
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
Nicholas Griffin
Global Head
Global Strategy Group
KPMG International
+ 44 20 7311-5924
nicholas.griffin@kpmg.co.uk
This research offers important findings on the outlook for industries and those who seek to establish
or preserve competitive advantage. D&A will indeed alter the competitive landscape—rewarding
some companies and punishing others—especially
in the longer term.
Investors and analysts see greatest opportunity for companies to use D&A to
improve operating performance, along with topline
growth and product innovation.
We believe no one knows what moves
share prices as well as institutional
investors and the equity analysts who
advise them.
What seems to be missing, say study participants,
is a close integration of data and analytics into
companies’ broader business strategies—and also
clear and concise explanations of this integration.
We hope you find the results of this research
valuable and look forward to discussing their implications with you.
Alex Miller
U.S. Service Lead
KPMG Strategy
KPMG in the US
+1 312 665-1325
amiller@kpmg.com
2
. Welcome to “the battlefield of the future”
Investors who control large institutional portfolios and the equity analysts who advise them
believe the use of data and analytics (D&A)
has a substantive and often dramatic impact
on the companies and sectors they cover. D&A
will alter the competitive landscape—rewarding some companies and punishing others—
especially in the longer term.
In response to companies’ more ambitious use of
data and analytics, investors and analysts alike
expect that D&A will play a greater role in investment decision making and valuation. “Across all
industries, there’s no escaping it,” says an investor
focused on the technology industry.
Nearly one in four investors and analysts report
changing an investment decision or valuation as a
result of a company’s data and analytics strategy,
according to a 2015 survey of more than 250
portfolio managers, analysts, research directors, and
other decision makers at large financial institutions.
Their enthusiasm for D&A is poised to grow
substantially in the years ahead, as 45% of survey
respondents anticipate relying on companies’ D&A
strategies as a major factor in their decision making.
Investors have always taken a keen interest in how
companies deploy new equipment and innovation
to generate revenue, control cost, and mitigate risk.
But as technology becomes increasingly embedded
in nearly all types of business activities, companies
can realize —or overlook — great value from the data
generated by new technology.
What’s behind this growing interest in data and analytics? Technologists’ have argued that, with enough
software and computing power, Big Data will yield a
new world of valuable insight into commercial, social, medical, and economic behavior. In this study,
we sought to understand how those who control
investment dollars view the value of data and analytics.
Do they pay attention to D&A, and if so, how
does it inform their decision making? Do they see
D&A as a source of revenue, cost containment, innovation, risk management, or other factors? Similarly, how do investors get information about companies ambitious use of data and technology? These
are among the questions we sought to examine in
this study.
Big Data will yield a new world of
valuable insight into commercial, social,
medical, and economic behavior.
To do so, we surveyed 130 investors from buy-side
firms such as pension funds, foundations and endowments, sovereign wealth funds, mutual funds,
asset management firms, and insurance companies.
Similarly, we surveyed 130 sell-side analysts at broker-dealers, who offer investment opinions on particular companies, sectors, and strategies to buy-side
firms. We supplemented this quantitative research
with a series of interviews with investors and analysts. See page 11 for a more complete discussion of
the methodology of this study.
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
D&A's impact on investment
decisions will grow
Have you changed your valuation or
investment opinion of a company as a result
of its D&A strategy in the last 12 months?
24%
 Yes
Are you likely to change your valuation
or investment opinions as a result of D&A
strategies over the next two years?
38%
7%
 Somewhat likely
 Very Likely
3
.
More on “ the battlefield of the future”
Many investors are likely to use companies’
D&A strategies in investment decision making
in the years ahead. What do these investors
know? “Data is the battlefield of the future.
[It can] create huge efficiencies and a massive
advantage, especially for global multinational
companies,” says one portfolio manager.
Like other shifts in technology—think of the rise of
the PC in the 80s, the Internet since 1995, and wireless connectivity most recently—data and analytics
is disrupting the competitive dynamics of markets
and companies. And like other catalysts of market
disruption, D&A will create opportunities for innovation from new entrants and pose threats to market incumbents that are less able to extract value
from the data that underlies their businesses.
Data and analytics “is going to favor the incumbents
initially,” says a buy-side analyst focused on health
care. In his view, “first movers that can collect more
data are going to create a high hurdle” for new market entrants, and, in the near term, large companies
that have the infrastructure to support ambitious
D&A initiatives are likely to prevail.
In the longer
term, he says, “It’s going to evolve. Initially we’ll see
some first-mover advantages, but, over time, that
will erode very quickly, much like you see in technology sectors.”
Amid this disruption lies great opportunity that
can be realized through sophisticated application of
data and analytics. A portfolio manager in Australia explains how the expansion strategy of a global
shipping and logistics firm is threatened by new
data-centric competitors.
He cites new data-driven
companies that are “100% more appealing” than
capital-intensive incumbents with big investments
in fixed assets.
“This global shipping company has huge warehouses, networks, and fleets of airplanes and trucks.
It’s a very asset-heavy company, whereas the newer
companies have a greater focus on software. They’re
much more ‘asset-light.’” As a result, he says, these
new companies are able to respond to market
opportunities faster and to achieve higher returns
by drawing on, rather than duplicating, the asset
“First movers that can collect more
data are going to create a high hurdle”
for new market entrants, and, in the
near term, large companies that have
the infrastructure to support ambitious
D&A initiatives are likely to prevail.
networks that are currently in place. “I think their
speed to market is quicker.
Their returns on capital are far higher. Their scale is much better. It’s not
about rolling out this huge network of assets.
They
don’t need to reinvent this network. They just need
a more efficient software platform. That’s hugely appealing to investors, I think, because the companies
can grow a lot faster.
They’ve got a huge competitive
advantage, and investors get superior returns. Their
return on capital is just massive.”
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
D&A has a visible effect on
company performance…
33%
D&A has already
delivered better
business
performance
49%
D&A will deliver
better business
performance over
the next 2 years
… and will disrupt the competitive
dynamics of industry sectors
54%
37%
Dramatic
or moderate
disruption in next
12 months
Dramatic
or moderate
disruption in next
3 years
4
. Strategies for navigating disruption
As D&A reshapes the competitive dynamics of
industry sectors, investors and analysts remain
focused on finding great new investment opportunities and monitoring companies’ financial
and operating performance in search of latent
strengths and weaknesses. Indeed, no one
knows what moves share prices as well as investors and equity analysts. With this in mind, we
asked survey respondents how the application
of D&A to achieve various business objectives
would affect their investment opinions. In aggregate, investors and analysts respond most
favorably to D&A’s application to cost-related
operating activities.
Similarly a U.S.
hedge fund partner cites a European
manufacturer of women’s clothing that scans photographs published by users on social networks to
identify popular colors. By using such information
to test new designs and colors, the company is able
to bring new products to market “in less than two
months, whereas the normal department store will
take a year” to do so. “The company,” he continues,
“is gathering information from users really quickly,
pretty much like guerrilla marketing, and then incorporating it into its construction and production really
fast.” As a result, the company “can catch trends and
ride them a lot faster.
It becomes a trend maker as
opposed to a trend follower. And usually, you’ll find,
the trend followers will have problems.”
But investors’ and analysts’ views about how D&A
could best be used differ according to the sectors on
which they focus. One buy-side investor lauds a wellknown retailer for its use of D&A to cultivate customer loyalty and to price dynamically.
“Here’s a huge
department store in an industry that is very tough,
very competitive, using its data to offer customers
discounts specific to their tastes,” says this portfolio
manager focused on consumer and retail industries.
“When you’re walking around in the store, they are
able to track where you’re going and then use that
data in the future.” With the aggregated data, the
company can ask, “What do you like? Which areas
of the store did you visit? Which products were you
looking at?” he says. “That’s a huge advantage in
industries like retail that are very competitive. Companies that use data smartly can create a huge competitive advantage, gain market share, and improve
customer loyalty.”
Two leading vendors of industrial automation gear
earn high praise from analysts.
One firm’s “huge installed base of industrial automation controls generates critical manufacturing data, which can be used
to build insights and improve customers’ operations,”
says a sell-side analyst, while another cites a close
competitor of the company, saying, “It has moved
quickly to be a prominent force in the industrial Internet. It aligns resources with market opportunity
and has developed a platform for industrial data and
analytics.”
Across sectors, investors and analysts also reveal
that they expect D&A strategies to be a part of a company’s broader strategic plan. Various respondents
focused on the financial services sector, for example,
criticize a well-known credit card issuer for devoting
resources to unrelated businesses while overlooking
valuable sources of customer information.
Says one
investor, “Despite a huge trove of customer data, [this
card issuer] prefers to spend on nonadjacent lending
businesses.”
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
Would a company’s use of D&A to
achieve these objectives affect your
investment opinion favorably?
GROWTH
Deploy dynamic pricing of
products and services
55%
Segment customers and tailor
offerings based on purchasing
or credit behavior
52%
Develop and test products
and services faster
52%
Develop new business models
and information-based products
and services
51%
Forecast business
performance faster
51%
Improve operating performance
by controlling costs, shrinking
inventory, and allocating resources
optimally
62%
Use algorithms to aid or replace
human decision making
26%
PROFITABILITY
RISK MANAGEMENT
Limit supply chain risk by mining
data from transactions with
partners, suppliers, and vendors
Expose fraud and irregular
business practices among
customers, employees, suppliers,
and partners
51%
47%
5
. Business strategy—not data—is the weak link
The massive investments in IT over the last generation have in many cases paid off. The flood
of money from both customers and investors
has built a vibrant high technology sector, which
develops new products used by firms and consumers alike in nearly all their activities. These
activities generate vast troves of data which, if
accessible, are ripe for harvest by D&A applications. Investors and analysts reveal, however,
that while companies generally have ready access both to data and the tools to analyze it,
their integration of data, analytics, and business
strategy often falls short.
According to a portfolio manager in Asia, “data is a
huge advantage for a company, but it’s not just all
about the collection of data.
It’s about how you use
Time and attention devoted to D&A strategy
40%
the data in planning a strategy.” Deriving strategic
value from data is a formidable challenge for companies, he explains. “You’ve got to become much
more customer-focused on what type of data you’re
collecting and how you use it. Even how you display it matters.
You’ve got to be able to make sense
of it. There’s just so much stuff that can be gathered
today.” The pressing question to answer, he says,
is: “How do I actually put this data into something
that’s sensible—that someone’s going to be able to
use—and get that competitive advantage from it?”
Investors and analysts have broad faith in the quality
of data and technical capabilities of the companies in
their sectors. Nine in ten respondents say companies
have adequate or excellent confidence in their data
on operating activities.
Nearly 80% of respondents
say companies have access to timely and accurate
Data mining and
analysis capabilities
Access to timely,
transaction-level data
67%
74%
10%
 Not enough
 Appropriate
 Too much
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
What’s missing, it seems, is the integration of these
building blocks into a strategy for data and analytics
that supports business strategy. Fully 40% of analysts and investors say the companies in the sectors
they cover don’t devote enough attention to D&A
strategy. Technology teams have done their part by
providing access to data and the technology to distill
value from it.
The hard work that remains, however,
is the business problem of integrating data, technology, and business strategy.
69%
Confidence in
operating data
2%
58%
transaction-level data on day-to-day business activities and have adequate or better technical abilities to
mine and analyze data.
16%
22%
9%
22%
11%
 Poor  Adequate  Excellent
6
. Demonstrate the business value of D&A strategy
While companies, investors, and analysts have
high hopes for data and analytics in the years
ahead, they seem to struggle to express and
to understand how D&A will shape their world.
What’s missing? A sophisticated discussion
between the providers and users of D&A information on the metrics, benchmarks, and standards
for evaluating data and analytics.
In the last 12 months, just more than half (56%) of
respondents have had one or more companies proactively present them with information about their D&A
strategies. In addition, investors and analysts believe
companies seldom do a good job of explaining how
D&A contributes to their overall business strategies;
only 40% of all respondents say companies in their
sector explain D&A strategies very or even fairly well.
Companies that tell their D&A stories to investors and
analysts persuasively are at a clear advantage. “We
want to hear about data and how companies are using
it. We want to know that they’re factoring it in and
they’ve built the business case internally for using
data to build competitive advantage,” says an Australian portfolio manager.
If a company’s management
has little to say about D&A, “we question it and weigh
it. We ask ourselves, ‘Is it going to be a huge competitive disadvantage if they’ve got no strategy?’”
dents’ comments reveal a few important lessons for
companies in the discipline of D&A presentation:
• Make your D&A information clear and concrete.
Use “fewer trendy buzzwords” and offer “simple
and straightforward explanations,” advises an
analyst covering technology. Others advise companies to “be transparent in releases about data
and analytics” and to “demonstrate by example.”
• Offer investors and analysts who are more D&A
savvy detailed but relevant D&A information.
An investor who follows consumer businesses
suggests companies offer “analyses of strategic
plans with clear measures of achieving financial
and operational goals, as well as standards and
tolerances in risk management.” And an investor focused on technology says investors seek “the
‘why’ of the market position and better explanations of what the data shows.
We want companies
to actually talk about D&A strategy, rather than
Have companies in your sector
proactively presented information to you
on their use of D&A?
However, companies beware: It is probably impossible
to apply all of this advice in the same D&A presentation. The reason, of course, is that these comments are
from investors and analysts who themselves have different levels of D&A sophistication and knowledge.
Realizing this provides yet another excellent tip about
presenting your D&A story: Know the level of D&A sophistication of your audience.
How well do companies in your
sector explain their D&A strategy?
4%
56%
How can companies tell their D&A stories
more effectively?
As the interest in D&A strategy and expectations of
its disruptive influence across sectors rise, companies should ensure the links between D&A and their
broader business strategy are clear. Survey respon-
being vague.” Similarly, an investor focused on
financial services calls for companies to “let ITcompetent people present” their D&A strategies.
• Focus on business outcomes—the ultimate contributions to financial and operating performance
made by D&A efforts—rather than on intermediate
steps or processes.
A technology-focused investor
suggests companies describe “how the use of data
has differentiated the firm from others.” Similarly,
an analyst focused on financial services companies
recommends that companies explain “how D&A
spending has improved your performance.”
44%
 Yes
 No
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
36%
37%
 Very well
 Fairly well
 Poorly
 Not at all
23%
7
. Investors recognize the complexity of D&A
In this early stage of D&A, investors and analysts
are still figuring out how to get the D&A information they consider important to their decision
making. And since data and analytics is as much
a matter of business strategy as it is technology,
investors use an expansive, unstructured
approach to evaluating it.
tor focused on energy companies says that, when
making investment decisions, investors should
compare the data holdings of different companies:
“How does their data compare? What are the assumptions and benchmarks they’re using?”
As in other highly valuable forms of analysis, investors and analysts assemble a mosaic of information
from many sources and look for patterns when evaluating data and analytics. And survey respondents
by a wide margin say they use an unstructured rather than structured approach to D&A analysis.
This unstructured approach comes in many forms,
say buy-side and sell-side respondents. “We look
into the company’s data culture, look at who owns
the data, think about the opportunity to improve
operations with the use of data and analytics, but
also consider the opportunity to monetize the data
and generate new revenue,” says a sell-side analyst
who covers capital goods and industrials.
An inves-
of D&A. And sell-side analysts’ coverage of D&A
seems to fall short of investors’ expectations nearly
60% of the time, according to buy-side investors.
Nearly 70% of sell-side analysts say their clients
have expressed minimal or no interest in D&A.
Respondents also advise caution when reviewing the
technical dimensions of companies’ D&A strategies.
One investor focused on the financial sector says,
“You need to be skilled at IT to understand D&A
strategies.” An investor focused on the technology
industry advises peers evaluating companies’ D&A
to “read out of the data, not into it.” And a sell-side
analyst focused on financial services says, “Look for
robust, scalable data and analytics systems, especially for newly public companies and companies that
are growing to large-cap size.”
Why might analysts and investors have such tepid
reactions to each other’s approach to D&A? Perhaps
because sell-side analysts do not see investors’ interest in data and analytics directly. Instead, what they
likely see directly is investors’ “show me the money”
enthusiasm for a company’s business performance,
which is, of course, the result of its strategies, including its D&A strategy.
Respondents’ experience in acquiring good information to weigh in their decision making is at best
uneven.
In the last 12 months, when considering potential investments in their sectors of interest, only
half of buy- and sell-side respondents proactively
sought information about at least one company’s use
How formal and structured is your process for reviewing
and analyzing D&A strategies?
39%
14%
22%
1
2
3
Very unstructured
18% 7%
4
5
Very structured
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
In the words of the VP of research at a U.S. asset
management firm, “We’ll never say, ‘We’re not going
to invest in a company because it’s bad in D&A,’ but
we certainly wouldn’t invest because a [drug] company hadn’t brought any new drugs to the pipeline in
the last couple years, and poor data might be one of
ten reasons” for this poor performance. As investors
progress in their D&A maturity, they are likely to
express their interest in D&A more directly.
How well do
sell-side analysts in
your sector cover
D&A strategies?
4%
38%
16%
 Very well
 Fairly well
 Poorly
 Not at all
42%
8
.
The road ahead for D&A
D&A is already changing the competitive dynamics across sectors—and the effects are
likely to increase dramatically in the next
three years. Some companies will be rewarded. Others will be punished. The path to success is tied to applying data and analytics to
business strategy.
Any disruption of competitive dynamics brings with
it opportunities and risk.
Such is the case with the
disruption—across all industries—that has begun to
be felt due to companies’ use of data and analytics.
As a result, we are already seeing D&A winners and
D&A losers. And, in the years to come, many more
companies will fall into one of these two ranks.
How can a company ensure its place among those
that successfully realize the opportunities offered by
D&A? The results of this research study suggest the
following guidelines:
• Apply D&A to the business objectives that are
aligned with core strategy. Investors and analysts
most strongly support—with increased company
valuations—the use of D&A strategies to accomplish different business objectives in different
industries.
The most beneficial D&A-driven objectives are likely to differ from company to company. The question is, How does D&A support and
reinforce overall business strategy?
• Realizing the opportunities of D&A is largely a
strategic problem, not an IT problem. Build the
right D&A business strategies out of your data
and analytics capabilities, to achieve your chosen
objectives.
Having high-quality data and analytical capabilities is not enough.
the next two years, very or somewhat likely to
change investment opinions as a result of companies’ D&A strategies. This is a striking increase from the 24% who did so during the last
year—and could have a meaningful impact on
company valuations.
• Effectively communicate D&A strategies and results to investors and sell-side analysts. Because
companies often explain their use of D&A poorly
or not at all, those that tell their D&A stories well
to this audience are at a clear advantage.
As one
As the payoff from companies’ effective D&A
strategies becomes more visible and the influence that companies’ D&A plays in investors’ decision making increases, we can also expect:
The most beneficial D&A-driven
objectives are likely to differ from
company to company. The question is,
How does D&A support and reinforce
overall business strategy?
Australian portfolio manager says, “We want to
hear about data and how companies are using
it. [If a company’s management has little to say
about D&A,] we ask ourselves, ‘Is it going to be a
huge competitive disadvantage if they’ve got no
strategy?’”
Be assured that investors and analysts are already factoring companies’ D&A efforts into
their investment decisions and valuations.
Of all
respondents, nearly half says that they are, in
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
• Investors and sell-side analysts to seek more and
better D&A information proactively from companies
• Analysts to improve their overall coverage of
companies’ D&A
• The companies with which you compete to become better at explaining their D&A strategies to
investors and analysts
For companies across all industries, D&A will soon
be, as one portfolio manager for a large Australian
asset management firm says, “the battlefield of the
future.” It would serve companies, investors, and
analysts well to be ready.
9
. Methodology and further reading
In 2015, KPMG commissioned the Custom Research Group at Institutional Investor
Research (IIR) to examine investors’ and sell-side analysts’ views on the use of data
and analytics (D&A) by public companies. We surveyed 260 investors and sell side
analysts and supplemented the survey findings with interviews with six investors
and four sell side analysts.
19%
260
investors
and sell-side
analysts
from around
the world
72%
4%
BUY-SIDE INVESTORS
BUY-SIDE FIRMS’ ASSETS
UNDER MANAGEMENT
53%
47%
56%
25%
19%
Analysts
Research directors
Corporate management
This executive briefing
summarizes
the topline findings from “Data and Analytics: A New
Driver of Performance and Valuation.” You
can find this report, along with industryspecific briefings and topical summaries at
the following URL:
www.kpmg.com/us/dna
5%
SURVEY RESPONDENT TITLES
SELL-SIDE ANALYSTS
KPMG
resources
on Data and
Analytics
Analysts
Portfolio managers
Corporate management
Data and Analytics: A New Driver of Performance and Valuation | October 2015
 $50 billion or more
In addition, KPMG offers a wealth of other
resources for companies interested in data
and analytics. Visit the link above to learn
about the firm’s point of view on the data,
technology, and business challenges that lie
ahead, as well as discover more about the
firm’s experience and capabilities in data
and analytics.
KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”) is a Swiss entity. Member
firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International.
KPMG International provides no client services. No member firm has any
authority to obligate or bind KPMG International or any other member firm vis-àvis third parties, nor does KPMG International have any such authority to obligate
or bind any member firm. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Institutional Investor LLC
2015 used under exclusive license by KPMG LLP.
Copyright © Institutional Investor LLC 2015. All rights reserved. All text and content
of this research report are the exclusive property of Institutional Investor.
The research and commentary in this document are intended to highlight results, trends,
and patterns among respondents in this study. In no event should the content of
this report be construed to constitute an investment recommendation or managerial advice from Institutional Investor or KPMG International, which commissioned
this study.
 $10 billion to $50 billion
 Less than $10 billion
10
.