Note: This story was first posted on February 9th 2010.

When we developed our 2010 research agenda a few months ago we could not ignore the fact that now more than ever, enterprises are being forced to manage huge amounts of data from many different and often completely new channels. The term unbounded sums up the situation perfectly as it immediately suggests infinite. Enterprises generate more data, collect more data, and can consider more data than ever before. But an increasing amount of data is generated outside the enterprise, by sources that you don’t control.

Prodigious quantities of data present opportunity, complexity, and distraction. Separating signal from noise requires advanced analytics and thoughtful strategies. Many businesses can and will reap the benefits of more detailed information on every part of the ecosystem (customers, prospects, competitors, partners, and employees) if it can be harnessed. Data-driven insight will enhance intuition and expand the purview of decision makers inside and outside the enterprise in ad hoc and deliberative processes.

As we began the research into this topic we decided that it would be help set a benchmark and get a better understanding of where professionals and their companies are with regards to their readiness and ability to deal with data. Last week we launched a survey to measure how data is being used both from a functional level and across enterprises. The survey is open to all levels and functions—if you are reading this we would love to hear from you! It only takes about 15 minutes. As a thank you for your time we will provide you with a summary of the findings.

The survey is designed to gather information to help answer these questions: Are decision-makers able to get the information they need? Are enterprise processes and IT departments keeping pace with technology advancements? What new types of data are being gleaned from social media and how are these being used? What data-related issues are preventing enterprises from measuring, managing, analyzing, sharing, and collaborating more effectively?

To participate, please click on one of the links above or simply click here.

Thank you in advance for your participation, we look forward to sharing results with you.