Risk Trends 2025 and Beyond: Data Analytics and Continuous Monitoring

Knowing how to optimize value from data is the starting point, but do you have the expertise to do so?

In the current business landscape, data analytics and continuous monitoring are driving significant value for many industries — a foundational element of staying ahead of the curve. 

The value of data in Canada is projected to reach $1 trillion before 2030, and to stay competitive, businesses need to consider investing in data, databases, and data science. Statistics Canada reported a 400 percent growth in these investments since 2005, highlighting their importance. However, leveraging these analytics isn’t without risk. 

Here’s the thing, the more value businesses see in data, the more they start relying on it, and the more they generate. And the more data generated, the greater the chance of mistakes, inaccuracies or a data breach. Data integrity is critical to data value and the ability to capitalize upon it. 

Poor quality data can lead to misleading results, which can result in deployment of incorrect strategies and poor decision-making. Keep in mind that it’s not only about collecting data, it’s about making sure it’s clean and reliable. 

Clean data, smart moves

Different systems and formats can lead to unreliable data sets, making it a challenge to integrate data from a variety of sources. To combine all the pieces into a cohesive set, organizations need to seamlessly integrate data — this is key to making informed, confident decisions. 

While automation in analytics can improve efficiency, try not to over rely on them. Algorithms are handy but might miss the nuances or errors that human oversight could catch. By balancing automation with human review, it helps make sure nothing slips through the cracks and supports more accurate outcomes. 

Human review of data can also help keep workplaces physically safe. Consider the enormous dump trucks in the oil sands that are controlled by artificial intelligence sensors. These trucks rely on these sensors to prevent accidents. If these sensors fail, the consequences could be severe, possibly causing harm to staff or damage to the worksite. Human oversight helps to mitigate these physical risks.

Without the right expertise in place, businesses may struggle to interpret the data correctly. By investing in training and hiring skilled professionals, organizations can leverage the full potential of data analytics. A knowledgeable team can be the difference between actionable insights and suboptimal decisions. 

They can also help overcome any cultural resistance within an organization. If the culture resists data-driven decision-making, it can lead to a lack of support for these projects. Nurturing a culture that understands the value of data can drive more informed decisions across the business. 

Why stop there? Here are other risks to consider:

• Data privacy and security breaches
• Cyber security vulnerabilities enabling hacker success
• IT and OT control weakness impacting critical infrastructure
• Weak data management and storage controls leading to breaches
• Increased risk of ethics violations, fraud, and corruption due to ineffective controls

Questions to consider:

• Do you feel your competitors have better insights from data, enabling them to gain market share?
• Does your strategy optimize value from data, and do you have sufficient expertise to unlock this value?
• Have you used advanced data analytics and continuous monitoring to prevent and detect fraud?