Businesses are being encouraged to make sure they establish data stewardship roles as the level of data quality continues to fall.

Poor data quality severely affects many business procedures and initiatives, including customer relationship management, according to industry analyst Gartner.

And the firm explained that the recent success of data stewardship – in which managers are appointed to take responsibility for the protection and quality of data and information within a company – suggests the technique would benefit British businesses if widely adopted.

"Data quality is a business issue, not an IT matter, and it requires the business to take responsibility and drive improvements," said Ted Friedman, a Gartner analyst.

Appointing someone to organise data quality improvement across a company and define clear goals for upgrading data protection and storage systems is essential, the firm said.

The person would act as a point of reference for essential data systems, ensuring quality is maintained and business processes are supported.