In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, data has emerged as a critical asset for businesses. As enterprises continue to generate and collect vast amounts of data, the question of how to effectively monetize these data assets becomes increasingly pertinent. A recent discussion on the “Speaking of Data” podcast, hosted by TDWI’s James Kobielus, sheds light on this topic, outlining four key strategies for successful data monetization.
Data Democratization: The First Step Towards Monetization
The journey towards data monetization begins with data democratization. This involves providing everyone in your organization access to the best data available to support data-driven analytics. The benefits of data democratization are twofold. On one hand, it leads to qualitative improvements, such as employees working smarter. On the other hand, it also results in quantitative benefits, such as enabling better business decisions that boost sales, retain customers, or upsell to existing customers.
Operationalizing Data: Driving Efficiency and Revenue
The next step in the data monetization maturity model is operationalizing data. This refers to the use of data in business operations to drive better decisions and make processes more efficient. By reducing costs and boosting revenue, data operationalization has been a core strategy that organizations have used from the beginning of data and business to drive the quantitative bottom line.
Data Prioritization: The Path to Intelligent Products and Services
As enterprises mature in their data monetization journey, they begin to prioritize data. This involves using data and data-derived assets, such as machine learning models and AI, and embedding them in physical products like edge devices, cloud services, and mobile digital assistants. This not only makes these products and services more intelligent but also helps customers make smarter decisions.
Selling Data: Monetizing Data Directly
The final strategy for data monetization is selling data. This involves taking the data assets you own and selling or licensing them. By providing subscription access to customers, you’re monetizing the data directly and using your data as a currency.
Implementing Monetization Strategies: A Strategic Framework
Implementing these strategies requires a strategic framework. This involves understanding these strategies, assessing their relevance and feasibility in your business, and aligning your investments in data and analytics around these goals. It also requires top-down support from the executive level.
In addition to this, organizations committed to monetizing their data need to consider staffing, skills, and building teams in their organization to boost monetization. Over time, you may want to create a cadre of data product managers whose job it is to build and sell products and services that incorporate data and data-driven analytics.
Measuring Success in Data Monetization
A crucial part of the data monetization journey is knowing when you’re successful. This requires clear metrics. People are incentivized when they know their actions are directly related to data and data-derived products, so they need KPIs and ongoing dashboard updates to show how successful they are in monetizing the data assets you have.
In conclusion, data monetization is not a one-size-fits-all process. It requires a strategic approach, a clear understanding of the value of your data, and a commitment to investing in the right tools, skills, and strategies. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, so too will the opportunities for data monetization. It’s up to businesses to seize these opportunities and unlock the full potential of their data assets.
