Data is the New Currency
Data has become the new currency. In today’s digital economy, data is worth its weight in gold. Businesses are sitting on mountains of data, but they don’t always know how to mine it for valuable insights.
As the world increasingly moves towards a digital economy, data is becoming one of the most valuable commodities. Companies are willing to pay handsomely for access to user data, and as a result, data has become a major currency in the digital world.
This trend is only likely to get stronger in the future, as more and more businesses move online and data becomes even more integral to the functioning of the digital economy.
Bernard Marr’s piece in Forbes “How Much Data Do We Produce Every Day -The Mind-Blowing Stats Everyone Should Read” lays out the extent of global online engagement. Some highlights:
- Google processes 40,000 searches every second
- 456,000 tweets are sent every minute
- 16 million text messages are sent every minute
- 1.5 billion people are active on Facebook every day
Facebook and Alphabet are maybe the most prolific “data-collectors” of the group, employing IaaS business models and generating $55 Billion and $116.3 Billion respectively from advertising which is targeted at users as a direct result of the data they generate on those platforms. That’s not to say Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon aren’t benefiting from consumer data either. Amazon in particular is a leader in the collection, storage, processing, and analysis of personal information of millions of customers, and it uses that data to fuel its customer-centric approach through algorithms that market to consumers and encourage purchasing on the platform by presenting products that are customized to their preferences. And that’s just the right side of their business model-Amazon’s operations and logistics are powered by data as well.
Business model shifts
Businesses are now adopting a physical to digital business model, where they use data to drive their business decisions.
This is because data provides insights that can help businesses optimize their operations, and understand their customers better and construct digital business models, where they use data to drive their business decisions. Data provides vital insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends. It also helps businesses to track their performance and assess their critical business efforts like marketing. Additionally, data can be used to develop new products and services, as well as to improve existing ones.
There are numerous advantages to using data. For one, it allows businesses to be more agile and respond quickly to changes in the market. Additionally, it can help businesses save money through Artificial Intelligence and Automation.
Data might be the new currency of business, but extracting value from it does take an effort in learning how to connect up various sources and analyze their outputs. But when harnessed correctly, it can provide invaluable insights that can be critical to a business becoming successful.
