We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Stan Sthanunathan to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing the consumer insights industry: the overwhelming volume and fragmented nature of data and how this blocks our path to meaningful insights.
As Stan puts it, “we’re not lacking data – we’re drowning in it.”
Today’s organisations have access to more data than ever before, fuelled by democratized access and an explosion of new sources. The instinctive response? Build a unified data lake in the hope of mining it for insights. However, as Stan points out, this ideal can quickly become a trap. What’s intended as a pristine data lake often turns into a data swamp that is difficult to navigate and harder to draw insight from.
🧩 The case for intentional integration
Instead of chasing exhaustive unification, Stan champions a more pragmatic approach: intentional integration. It’s not about collecting everything, it’s about connecting what matters. Here’s how to do it:
✅ Define the business problem
What specific business question am I trying to answer?
✅ Identify the data that matters
Not all data is created equal. Prioritise relevance over volume
✅ Break the right silos to unlock meaningful data
Don’t aim to dismantle every barrier. Focus on the silos that unlock insight
For example, one key reason our Trends product can identify trends up to six months earlier than pure social listening platforms and forecast their future impact with greater precision is that we triangulate momentum and predictive scoring using signals from search, social, consumer reviews and NPD launch data. So why would you limit your view to just one channel?
🎯 A moving target
The data and insights landscape is anything but static. Just a few years ago, TikTok wasn’t on the radar – now it’s a cultural force. Facebook’s influence has waned, while Instagram continues to surge. This fluidity underscores the importance of not building a monolithic system as this can become obsolete fast.
Instead, adopt a “horses for courses” mindset. Not every data source needs to be tamed. Focus on the ones that best serve your goals.
Want to learn more?
🎥 Watch the video.
