{"id":6995,"date":"2022-07-23T15:40:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T08:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/mckinsey-data-driven-enterprise\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T22:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T15:52:09","slug":"mckinsey-data-driven-enterprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/en\/mckinsey-data-driven-enterprise\/","title":{"rendered":"7 characteristics of the data-driven enterprise: McKinsey’s 2025 forecast revisited"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated on October 19, 2026: data reviewed and updated.<\/em><\/p>\n

7 characteristics of the data-driven enterprise: McKinsey’s 2025 forecast revisited<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a forecast published in early 2022, McKinsey predicted that by 2025 the data-driven enterprise would be the norm: smart workflows and seamless interaction between people and machines would be as standard as a company’s balance sheet, and most employees would use data to optimize nearly every aspect of their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

2025 has now passed, so this is a good time to hold that forecast up against reality and see where your own business stands.<\/span><\/p>\n

McKinsey set out 7 characteristics that define this new data-driven enterprise. At the time the forecast was written, many companies already showed at least a few of these characteristics, while many others were only at the very beginning of the journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

The companies that move fastest will capture the most value from data-supported capabilities. For example, according to McKinsey, January 2022<\/a>, companies that get at least 20% of their EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) from AI are more likely to have adopted data practices that serve as a foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

This guide is meant to help executives understand the characteristics of the new data-driven enterprise and the capabilities they can put in place to get there. It also points to resources for going deeper into how to apply data across the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Characteristic 1: <\/b><\/span>Data is embedded in every decision, interaction and process<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The reality in 2022<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Organizations tended to apply data-driven approaches, from predictive systems to AI-driven automation, in a patchy way across the organization. That left value on the table and led to inefficiency. Many business problems were still being tackled through traditional approaches and took months or even years to resolve.<\/span><\/p>\n

The forecast for 2025<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Nearly all employees use data naturally and regularly to support their work. Instead of solving problems by default through building long roadmaps that can sometimes take years to deliver, they are empowered to ask how new and innovative data techniques could solve the challenge in a few hours, a few days or a few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations are able to make better decisions, automate the basic activities that happen every day, and make routine decisions far more frequently than before. Employees are freed up to focus on more “human” areas such as innovation, collaboration and communication. A data-driven culture drives continuous performance improvement, so that customer and employee experiences start to stand apart, and it also makes room for sophisticated new applications that are not yet widely used today.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to get started<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n