Ernst & Young’s 2017 Global Hedge Fund and Investor Survey showed that 78 percent of hedge funds currently use or expect to use alternative, or non-traditional data, in their investment process. That number is up from 52 percent the year before. For investment firms grasping for alpha in the midst of margin pressures, alternative data presents a compelling opportunity. But, despite the growing recognition of its potential value, myriad challenges keep some firms from going all-in on alternative data.