Speaking at Ovum's event in Sydney, analyst Steve Hodgkinson said the proliferation of data is more problematic than other kinds of proliferation in the enterprise.

"Many of the apps are starting to become useful in the enterprise context...it is changing the way that people are thinking," Hodgkinson said to an audience of IT leaders and CIOs.

"This is changing the world of data and it's [being] enabled by the proliferation of technology."

Hodgkinson said the impact of Gen-Y in the enterprise has contributed to such proliferation, using the example of an MP3 and its appeal to describe how quality is no longer the most important factor for employees choosing applications.

"Young people are fundamentally changing the way we do almost everything...and the MP3 is a great example of this," he said. "From an engineering sense, it isn't a good tool, but it's extremely powerful in the way that it's changing music."