Financial institutions and other large corporation are using Big Data for a range of successful projects and initiatives, according to a recent survey.

Almost 81% of executives, surveyed by consulting firm NewVantage, characterized their big data investments as “successful.” The report, released last week, included responses from 50 C-level executives at Fortune 1000 companies; more than 75% of the respondents were from financial services firms.

According to the report, there are seven focus areas for firms in their big-data projects, with cost-reduction being the most popular one. From the report:

Focus areas such as efforts to decrease expenses through operational cost efficiencies have proven to be successful for many firms. Efforts to establish a data-driven culture remain more aspirational at this stage, with only 27.9% reporting success. Executives report that efforts to create new avenues for innovation and disruption have had the highest success rate – 64.5% started, 44.3% reporting results, 68.7% success rate.

The full report is available here.