Understanding Market Trends
Happy New Year friends! Now that all the fruit cake has disappeared, presents put away, and family members returning home, we decided to look to the future of the burgeoning data market. Since we’ve launched this website we’ve received hundreds of pieces of correspondence asking for our viewpoint on where this new vertical is heading, and decided to put together an obligatory “predictions” piece. Note that the following expectations are ours alone, and do not reflect any of the partners or companies that we work with. That in mind, here is our digital prognosis of this growing sector.
Small Businesses Monetization Will Takeoff
After speaking with dozens of small business owners in 2017 about their data monetization plans, we believe the market for SMB data will explode in 2018. Many small and medium of all shapes and sizes have come to us, looking for innovative methods of turning their private, in-house data into sellable assets. Whether the business is a florist in Brooklyn or ice cream shop in San Francisco, we have begun working with many companies on understanding the benefits and process by which they can sell some of their information in a privacy and user-safe manner.
How will this nascent area of data monetization grow? By examining what information they have collected and working alongside our sell-side brokers, we are helping companies identify new revenue streams. It has been written time and time again that data is the world’s most valuable resource, and companies that act on monetizing will have first-mover advantage on their competitors who do not.
Blockchain Will Influence the Data Marketplace
Companies all over the globe are racing to understand the value and potential of incorporating blockchain into their business models. While this nascent technology has still yet to be properly vetted (at the time of this article) as a secure and worthwhile venture, the potential is certainly apparent. Digital transactions can now take place without the need for a 3rd party intermediary (see: bank) anywhere in the world, in a secure and fast manner. This echoes the methods by which data sets are bought and sold, and could be a new conduit for commercialization.
If your business is interested in learning more how blockchain can be used to buy/sell data (or any asset) please reach out to our research team.
IoT Will Become the Centerpiece for Data Sourcing
This prediction – while not entire novel – is starting to unfold almost daily for businesses of all sizes. Companies are looking more and more to IoT-connected devices as a new source of data and to grow their business. No longer is IoT regulated to technology or startups, but retail, CPG, and other verticals are moving to it in droves. Also, B2C IoT is not online the source of data, as B2B and internal IoT devices now are driving business decisions at all levels. Internet-connected trucks, online medical devices, and warehouse inventory management systems are popping up in companies of all sizes. Many leaders at large technology firms such as SAS, Salesforce and GE believe not only will IoT sources drive direct business decisions, but also be larger inputs into algorithms and predictive models. As more and more SMBs begin to adopt and integrate IoT devices, we will see this submarket grow larger throughout.
How has your company already started looking at either IoT, Blockchain or information monetization as value drivers this year? Are you equipped to take advantage of these amazing technologies to either reduce costs (overhead) or add new streams of revenue to your bottom line? We’d love to hear more on your 2018 data plans.
It is an interesting marketplace especially when working with small local businesses. They are starting to become more savvy and aware of the need to understand who their true customer really is. They are seeing data as a way to do that. Because of this they are starting to spend their dollars on research and then putting it towards a more digital approach.