As Director of Product Management at Salesforce, Brian Moore’s vantage point has given him a front-row seat to one of the biggest hurdles in business today. He sees organizations inundated with structured and unstructured information, yet many struggle to determine what is truly useful for decision-making. According to Salesforce’s Untapped Data study, 80% of business leaders say data is critical to decision-making, but 41% say they lack understanding of their data because it is too complex or not accessible.
“So much information comes in, and companies tend to throw it all into one big pot,” Moore says. “The assumption is that the data will just tell us what to do. But predictive insights can only work if the inputs are logically sound and relevant to the business problem you’re solving.”
With a career spanning more than 600 product launches across industries such as SaaS, retail technology, and digital media, one theme consistently emerges. Data is the difference between a roadmap that exists on paper and one that actually delivers value.
The Challenge of Turning Numbers Into Strategy
“I believe data isn’t just numbers. It’s the roadmap to building intuitive products, smarter strategies, and lasting customer value,” says Moore. It’s a conviction that comes from years of watching ambitious plans slip off course because organizations lacked access to clear, timely insights. “Releases get delayed not because the teams weren’t working hard, but because we didn’t have the data to see the red flags early enough to pivot.”
He underscores the importance of data hygiene, careful structuring, and the role of skilled professionals who know how to interrogate queries. For large enterprises with legacy systems, this often means revisiting long-standing reports and data pipelines that may no longer align with current business needs. It also involves ensuring that teams understand not only how data is collected but why it is organized in a particular way, which can significantly influence the accuracy and relevance of insights.
“Even with AI getting more advanced, you still need someone to review whether the data you’re pulling actually makes sense. Without that rigor, it’s easy to base major decisions on faulty assumptions.”
Finding the Story in the Complexity
For Moore, the key lies in simplifying. He advises companies to take large data sets and break them down into clear groupings that highlight trends and tell a compelling story. “Actionable intelligence comes down to being able to say here’s the story, here’s what’s happening, and here’s what we need to do about it. That means detangling all the complexities and grouping things in a way that people can actually understand.”
One of the most effective methods is cross segmentation, which involves overlaying different data points that are not typically analyzed together. Moore recalls a retail example where revenue alone did not provide the full picture of where to open new stores. By also looking at transaction volume, foot traffic, and accessibility, the analysis revealed that capital investment in existing high-performing stores could yield greater returns than expansion. “Oftentimes, what you’ll see is there’s an untapped market that nobody identified because they hadn’t thought to put those lenses together,” he says.
Data in the Age of Agentic AI
As businesses adopt agentic AI, Moore predicts the next five years will be defined by how well organizations structure their data for machines to act upon. “The real investment is going to be asking whether my data is set up appropriately, whether I can harmonize it quickly across sources, and whether I have a strong source of truth.”
At the same time, he cautions that human oversight is essential. AI may catch errors and surface insights, but without product managers and business leaders reviewing outputs against strategy, companies risk misalignment or overreliance on automation. “You can’t just hit send and ship it. You still need someone to put guardrails in place, verify the logic, and make sure it aligns with your business goals,” says Moore.
He also raises a critical leadership concern, pointing to the urgent need for leaders who are comfortable with data and prepared to use it as part of their decision-making process. Executives who are uncomfortable with data often avoid engaging with it. “That avoidance could mean missing the game-changing question that takes a company from mediocre to market leader. It happens faster than people realize.”
From Insights to Impact
Actionable intelligence is not about having more dashboards or bigger data lakes. It is about telling the right story at the right time and being ready to act on it.
Moore’s perspective is shaped not only by his work at Salesforce but also by his entrepreneurial background. As Co-Founder of Canis Major Digital, a global music tech platform, he helped secure major industry partnerships and contributed to Grammy-nominated projects. He continues to advise early stage and growth-stage companies, applying the same principles of data-driven strategy to help them scale.
Whether in enterprise technology or creative industries, Moore believes in simplifying the complex and always translating insights into action. “Data tells a story if you’re willing to look at it the right way,” Moore says. “Once you see the story clearly, you can make sharper, faster decisions that drive real business outcomes.”
To follow Moore’s work and insights, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit his website.
