From compliance to performance, marked disparities between countries, favouring the UK and North America
AI is an accelerator that widens the gap
Equans, a global leader in multi-technical services, today unveils, together with L’Usine Nouvelle and L’Usine Digitale (Infopro Digital), the findings of an international study on how organisations create value from data, based on interviews with 980 decision-makers across six countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada). The challenge is no longer only to secure and govern data, but to turn it into a tangible driver of performance.
Key figures – International study
- 91% of organisations say they have data governance in place: the challenge now lies in real-world implementation and value creation.
- Only 45% exploit more than half of the data they collect: value remains under-industrialised, despite a widely shared strategic narrative.
- 61% in the UK and the US say their approach is already operational, versus 46% in France: Europe’s “performance lag” is about execution, not ambition.
- 59% of organisations in the United States already have a single platform, compared with 38% in France and 29% in the Netherlands: unification is the real engine for scaling.
- 71% (US) pool data collection across departments, versus 50% (France) and 44% (Netherlands) : maturity is also organisational (breaking silos and enabling internal circulation).
- AI is accelerating the conversion of data into performance, but it first requires unified, shared data: 54% usage in the United States vs 19% in the Netherlands.
Data security is largely in place, but data exploitation remains the glass ceiling
Data collection and inventorying are now largely established across all countries: 91% of respondents say they have governance rules defining ownership, responsibilities, access and security.
However, maturity is decided on the final step, turning data into tangible outcomes. Overall, only 45% say they exploit more than half the data they collect. This points to a practical glass ceiling: in many organisations, data mainly supports day-to-day operations, while insight delivery and the conversion into actionable information remain the weak link. In other words, making data “talk” is still the hardest capability to industrialise.
In Europe, data is still mainly a compliance issue, while English-speaking countries treat it as a performance lever
The international comparison reveals two distinct dynamics. On one side, the English-speaking bloc, where most of the organisations report exploiting more than 50% of their data (Canada 55%, UK 54%, US 52%). On the other, continental Europe, where exploitation is lower: France reaches only 41% above the threshold (52% below it), and the Netherlands 39% (42% below it), signalling that scaling remains immature.
This divide is also reflected in the nature of projects: where English-speaking countries are moving towards production-ready, standardised data use, Europe more often remains focused on operational steps (collection, processing, reporting). The gap is therefore less about intent than about the ability to move from reporting to true exploitation.
Without a single platform and internal data sharing, creating value is difficult
The study highlights very concrete levers that explain the gap.
- The first break point is unification: 59% of organisations in the United States say they already have a single platform, compared with 38% in France and 29% in the Netherlands.
- Second lever: the ability to break down silos. Data collection is more often pooled in the United States (71%) than in France (50%) or the Netherlands (44%), a key marker of data circulation across departments.
- Third lever: proving value. Quantified ROI is measured more frequently in the United States (45%) than in France (25%), and drops to 11% in the Netherlands, illustrating how difficult it can be to manage data through a performance lens.
In this landscape, the Netherlands is a revealing case: the survey results show it more often trailing on industrialisation markers. They cautiously suggest that a stronger emphasis on protection and security frameworks can, in practice, create additional barriers before use cases reach production, illustrating a Europe that is highly attentive to governance, but still constrained when it comes to scaling.
AI boosts performance, but catching up requires industrial-grade data
Final takeaway: AI does not erase gaps; it can amplify them. AI use for data exploitation is markedly higher in the United States (54%) than in the Netherlands (19%) or France (36%). And while AI is seen as a future priority everywhere, it is even more so in English-speaking countries: 93% in the United States, versus 73% in France and 68% in the Netherlands.
The study underlines a key point: AI becomes a lasting lever only when it rests on data that is already unified, shared and managed through relevant indicators. In short, AI accelerates, mostly where data execution is already ready to scale.
Jérôme Stubler, President of Equans:
“This study shows that the issue is no longer only about governing data, but about unlocking tomorrow’s performance from it: cleaning and structuring it so it can be used, analysing it in real time, pooling it across departments, and steering it through relevant, shared indicators to support decision-making. Scaling is what now makes the difference between the English-speaking bloc and continental Europe. For Equans, the challenge is to help our clients unlock the value of their treasures, sometimes hidden, by turning them into concrete use cases. Working on IT/OT integration and then AI, across factories, industrial processes and infrastructure, to boost the competitiveness of both private and public organisations.”
Focus: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom stands out for a clearer shift from framework to execution: 61% consider the approach operational, and majority exploitation is more common (54% say they exploit more than half of their data). These indicators suggest less a difference in intent than a difference in adoption at scale: beyond pilots, data becomes a routine management tool, with wider, more standardised use, and therefore more sustained performance impact.
Methodology: online study carried out by Infopro Digital’s research institute for L’Usine Nouvelle / L’Usine Digitale and Equans, from 24 November to 5 December 2025, among 980 respondents in six countries, including 480 in France and 100 in each of the five other countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada).
Other country snapshots
United States
In the United States, maturity is reflected in the ability to bring use cases into production and manage data as a performance asset. 61% of respondents say the approach is already operational, showing a more advanced deployment logic than in much of Europe. This lead rests on strong industrial foundations: 59% say they already have a single data platform, a key enabler to unify flows, break silos and scale from pilots to enterprise-wide rollout. In this context, value is more measurable: quantified ROI is tracked more often (45%), signaling a performance culture that turns data into tangible outcomes faster.
Netherlands
The Netherlands highlights the European paradox: visible momentum, but industrial foundations are still in their infancy. While 57% say their approach is operational, only 39% report exploiting more than half their data, and single-platform adoption remains far less common (29%). The survey cautiously suggests that stricter frameworks and a high sensitivity to protection and security can, in practice, slow progress before use cases reach production. The takeaway is clear: the challenge is not to add more governance, but to simplify and unify to accelerate execution
Canada
Canada shows a profile of “controlled acceleration”: it combines stronger effective exploitation with a high level of operationalisation. It is the country with the highest share of organisations saying they exploit more than half their data (55%) and where the approach is most often viewed as operational (67%). This suggests maturity built less on a single technological leap than on progressive standardisation of use cases, more robust over time. It also creates favourable ground for AI: 40% say they already use AI to exploit their data.
France
France illustrates a common continental paradox: data is increasingly becoming a structuring topic, but the conversion into performance remains incomplete. Only 46% say the approach is operational, and just 41% report exploiting more than half their data, highlighting a gap between intent and widespread adoption. Scaling is notably constrained by unification: 38% say they already have a single platform, limiting the ability to connect flows and industrialise practices across the organisation. The takeaway: the priority is no longer conviction, but tooling, pooling and proof of value.
Belgium
Belgium sits in between: momentum is real, but industrialisation remains uneven. 54% consider the approach operational, yet the share of organisations exploiting more than half their data is lower (47%), suggesting that value is still too often created case by case, without sufficient cross-functional diffusion. In other words, the country has moved past the commitment stage; the next step is standardisation: breaking silos, equipping teams and spreading shared use cases across functions to turn effort into lasting performance.