Effective use of fast-expanding data on public services and businesses could add £200bn to the UK economy, prevent billions of pounds of public fraud and kick-start the NHS's moribund productivity rates, a new report has suggested.

A joint study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and consultants SAS, published on 5 April, claims the rise of 'big data' – the fast-expanding volume of data on businesses and services that has followed the expansion of Internet-based information, cloud computing, mobile services and social media – means organisations must put together effective action plans, or risk continued underperformance.