Data Never Sleeps

As the year comes to an end we wanted to reflect on this year and what it has meant to the data industry. The Domo "Data Never Sleeps" report, an annual deep dive into the exponential growth of data, presents some striking statistics that illuminate the current landscape of our data-driven world. As organizations generate and store more data than ever before, the report underscores a critical reality: data is being created at an overwhelming rate.

In fact, Domo's 2024 report reveals that every minute, over 16,000 new videos are uploaded on TikTok, more than 3,472,222 million YouTube videos are watched, and over 1.04 messages are sent on slack. These numbers are not just eye-popping—they are a signal of the tremendous scale and speed at which we are producing data, presenting both opportunities and challenges for the data industry.

For organizations navigating this data deluge, Domo’s report offers valuable insights into both the areas of success and the warning signs they should heed. Let’s explore two key areas of success, as well as a critical warning that the report raises for businesses and data professionals alike.

Successful Data Accessibility and Real-Time Analytics

One of the most significant successes highlighted by Domo is the ability to access and analyze data in real time. With the growing adoption of cloud-based platforms, businesses are now able to process vast amounts of data almost instantaneously. This trend is empowering organizations to make data-driven decisions at speeds that were previously unimaginable. The ability to integrate data across various systems, tools, and departments allows businesses to get a holistic view of their operations in real time.

For data engineers, data scientists, and business leaders, this means that the ability to quickly process and visualize data is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Real-time analytics provides a competitive edge, enabling businesses to respond to changes in customer behavior, track operational metrics, and fine-tune marketing campaigns instantly. Cloud platforms like Domo and others are paving the way for this transformation, helping companies extract actionable insights from data and drive business growth.

We have achieved Data Democratization

Another success that the Data Never Sleeps report touches upon is the democratization of data. Traditionally, accessing and analyzing data required specialized knowledge and complex tools, which often left non-technical staff at a disadvantage. However, the emergence of self-service BI tools and no-code platforms has empowered business users to access and interact with data without relying on technical teams.

This democratization of data allows individuals across an organization—from marketing teams to sales managers—to make more informed decisions based on data, improving efficiency and collaboration. There are now many Business Intelligence and Analytics tooling that provides an intuitive interface that allows users to drag and drop data visualizations, making it easy for anyone, regardless of technical background, to gain insights from data. Now, business users are not only consumers of data—they are becoming data-driven decision-makers, accelerating innovation and growth within organizations.

Also, there are various tools to connect data from different sources - for many years we had data lakes and have successfully migrated to data fabrics - where data exists in many locations and can easily be pulled together 'as if' data was physically stored together. Now data fabric is the norm, and we can focus our efforts into optimizing the ETL and post processing of the data needed for analytics and AI development.

A Warning: The Risk of Data Overload

Despite these advancements, there’s a significant warning raised by the report: data overload. With the explosion of data comes a growing challenge: how to properly manage and use it. While it’s easier than ever to collect and store data, many organizations are struggling to extract actionable insights from this ever-growing pool of information. Without proper data governance, analytics frameworks, and talent to interpret the data, companies can easily fall victim to paralysis by analysis.

The rapid pace of data growth and the increased volume of digital content mean that businesses need to be cautious of data fatigue. Having access to vast amounts of data is only valuable if you have the tools, processes, and strategies in place to make sense of it all. Too much data—without effective data quality and data management practices—can lead to inefficient decision-making and even lost opportunities. This is especially true when data from different sources is inconsistent or unreliable.

Moreover, organizations may find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer scale of data they are collecting, leading to wasted resources or missed insights. With data being generated at such a high velocity, it becomes essential to apply strong data governance and analytics practices to ensure that the right data is being collected, cleaned, and used effectively.

Conclusion: Embracing Data, But with Caution

Domo’s Data Never Sleeps report offers a snapshot of how data is reshaping industries. While the advancements in real-time analytics and data democratization are undeniably positive, the warning about data overload is a reminder that success in the data-driven age doesn’t just come from collecting more data—it comes from knowing how to manage, interpret, and act on it effectively.

For the data industry, this means a growing need for data engineers, data scientists, and business leaders to not only embrace these tools and technologies but also focus on the key challenges of data quality, governance, and strategy. By doing so, organizations can avoid the pitfalls of data overload while continuing to harness the power of data to drive business outcomes.