Italian insurance companies are less mature than the EMEA average in five of the 11 key Knowledge Areas of modern Data Management: from governance (3.7 in Europe compared to 3.2) to data quality (4.4 vs. 4)—two key disciplines in information asset management—as well as data architecture, storage, and reference & master data.
Insurance companies making progress, but still behind the European average
Within Italy’s borders, however, compared to the first sector analysis (conducted in 2021), trends in insurance companies‘ data management are quite encouraging. Indeed, significant progress has been made by Italian companies over the past three years, especially in data governance and control (rising from 2.1 to 3.2), data modeling, document management, data architecture, and master data management. Regarding Data Quality, however, the situation remains stable at level 4 out of 5.
These findings emerge from the DAMA Italy 2024 Survey, presented at the annual DIAC convention held in Rome, attended by over 350 participants and featuring high-level keynote speeches. Notable speakers included the co-rapporteur of the AI Act, MEP Brando Benifei, as well as academics such as Tiziana Catarci, computer science expert from La Sapienza University and president of SIPEIA, philosopher Piergiorgio Donatelli from La Sapienza, and Giuseppe Italiano, vice-rector of Luiss University for artificial intelligence and digital skills. The event revolved around the central theme of “AI & Data Democratization.”
Among the insurance companies involved were Banco BPM Assicurazioni, Credem Vita and Credem Assicurazioni, Crédit Agricole Assicurazioni, Europ Assistance, Generali, Postevita, Reale Mutua, Vera Assicurazioni, and Vera Protezione. For the first time, therefore, the periodic survey by the Italian chapter of DAMA International provided a comparison with international benchmarks, specifically the region covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), comprising 22 national chapters. Furthermore, the research project developed by DAMA Italy inspired the creation of the first International Data Management Benchmark (IDMB), presented during “Embrace Transformation,” the flagship event for DAMA EMEA chapters.
Five maturity levels in data governance
Through structured questionnaires, DAMA assesses companies’ positioning on a scale from 0 to 5. At the first level (“Initial”), the success of Data Management depends on individual skills; at the second level (“Repeatable”), minimal process discipline is established; at the third (“Defined”), standards are set and utilized; at the fourth (“Managed”), processes are quantified and controlled; and finally, at the fifth level (“Optimized”), goals for improving data management processes are clearly expressed through metrics and KPIs. The Knowledge Areas, meanwhile, are part of the model known as the DAMA Wheel, published by the international association in the reference guide DMBoK®2.
Manufacturing data management: security prioritized over quality
This year, the Italian manufacturing sector was once again in DAMA Italy’s spotlight—just as in 2023, when the significant need for excellent data quality was highlighted—with a sample size that has doubled and become notably diverse. The main regulations and guidelines for managing company data are now applied to specific disciplines, such as marketing and sales. In some cases, even if the importance of Data Management is recognized within organizations, these concepts are still perceived as “technical and not very accessible, despite their direct impact on business activities.”
Among the manufacturing companies surveyed by DAMA Italy in 2024 were Aetna, Barilla, Bonfiglioli, Bucci Industries, Chiesi, Comelit, CPL Concordia, GFI Cosmetics, Gucci, Lamborghini, Loacker, Nupi, and Prada. In this sector, Italy demonstrates a good maturity level regarding Data Security (3.7 compared to the European average of 3.2), while falling behind in areas such as Data Quality (EU 3.8 vs Italy 2.3), Data Governance (2.9 vs 2.1), and Data Modeling (2.3 vs 1.9).
In January, the phase of “individual feedback” on research results will begin, and starting from March, the data will be available to DAMA Italy members. During the DIAC event—held at the prestigious Villa Blanc and gathering the Italian data community—our Head of Marketing, Egle Romagnolli, was recognized as Best Member of 2024 for her “essential contribution” to the Italian chapter’s activities.
