Results from the newest McKinsey Global Survey on data and analytics indicate that an increasing share of companies is using data and analytics to generate growth. Data monetization, as a means of such growth, is still in its early days—though the results suggest that the fastest-growing companies (our high performers) are already ahead of their peers. Respondents at these companies say they are thinking more critically than others about monetizing their data, as well as using data in a greater number of ways to create value for customers and the business.2 They are adding new services to existing offerings, developing new business models, and even directly selling data-based products or utilities.

Moreover, responses from the organizations that are seeing the most impact from their data-and-analytics programs offer lessons to others striving to make the most of their data. Those companies have, according to respondents, established a strong foundation for analytics in a few ways: clear data-and-analytics strategies, better organizational design and talent-management practices, and a greater emphasis on turning new data-related insights into action.