This post has been adapted from Gartner’s Applied Infonomics: Seven Steps to Monetize Available Information Assets paper – November 2018, which is available in full from Gartner here: https://www.gartner.com/document/3893864
The “monetization of information” matters
Although awareness of information’s potential to deliver more than operational and analytical benefits is increasing, data & analytics leaders rarely have the knowledge or experience to implement these ideas within their own businesses. The lack of an accurate inventory of current data, both internal and external, is a missing piece of the information asset management practise which prevents monetization being achieved. Internal politics also prevent innovation; whilst departments remain protective about their data, the opportunity to create enterprise level monetization strategies cannot be realised.
To be able to take advantage of the potential information monetization offers, business leaders should establish an information monetization function, create and maintain an inventory of possible information assets which can contribute to monetization, and consider both direct and indirect opportunities for monetization by looking beyond their own indistry organisations.
But why bother? Gartner predicts that;
- By 2020, information will be used to reinvent, digitalize or eliminate 80% of business processes and products from a decade earlier,
- By 2022, 90% of strategies will explicitly mention information as a critical corporate asset, and
- By 2023, data literacy will be a mainstream competency with the business
Organisations that can monetize their information assets can outstrip their rivals by using information to enable business value in new ways, bringing modern digital products and services to market which meet the increasing demands of the evolving digital citizen.
7 Steps to Monetization
Step One: Establish an Information Monetization Function
Establish ways to foster, measure, communicate and grow information’s indirect economic benefits by enabling the Office of the Chief Data Officer with an Information Product Manager who has the explicit target of conceiving ways to monetize information and identifying markets amongst partners and direct customers.
Step Two: Inventory the Available Information Assets
Classic attempts at cataloguing data have been technically focused, often mis-aligned from the business need to focus on outcomes. Using a modern data catalogue solution which can build and maintain a complete and reliable map of information supply chains, the inventory of data holdings, data provenence and use can ensure the business learns what information is available and can build strategies to make the most of this newly understood asset.
LINQs role within the infonomics lifecycle starts with this level of documentation, using the LINQ platform and language to create your information supply chains and derive the business insights needed to provide the intelligence needed to leverage the information assets.
Step Three: Evaluate Methods for Direct and Indirect Monetizing
Indirect monetization is about optimsing the business; using information to improve a process or product in a way that results in measurable outcomes, such as increased profitability, or operational cost savings.
Direct monetization involves transactions; exchanging information for goods and services, selling data through brokers, or creating analytics solutions using data as a part of the solution.
Step Four: Adapt Ideas from other Industries
Look outside your own industry for new ideas on how to monetize your information assets. To only do what your peers are doing can leave you in second place, trailing behind the first mover. Being curious about what other organisations are doing can provide valuable indicators about potential changes in your own market which you can then use for your own competitive advantage.
Step Five: Test Ideas for Feasibility
Are your ideas practicable, marketable, scalable, manageable, technological, economical, legal, ethical and ecological? Considering and answering these questions honestly will enable concensus to be built across the executive about the potential value of information, as well as the costs, requriements and risks of monetization.
Step Six: Prepare Information for Monetization
Work must be undertaken to ensure the information needed is fit for purpose. You should plan any aggregation, integration, supplementing, analysing, cleansing, deidentifying, packaging, access and maintenance needed to ensure the information meets the need.
These are the common mechanisms of data management many organisations are already familiar with, now being applied to the purpose of monetization.
Step Seven: Establish and Cultivate the Market
Create and use a dedicated Information Product Marketing role to ensure the success of your newly monetized inforamtion product. This role will develop the packaging, positioning, pricing and sale of the product, generating new revenues into the business.
LINQs Role in Applied Infonomics
As a modern information catalogue, LINQ can be used to accelerate your organisation through these steps.
As a critical platform for your Chief Data Officer, Information Product Manager, and Information Product Marketer, LINQ enables the discovery of the information you have available to you, how it creates business value today and how your available information assets can be re-used and re-purposed to create new economic value to the organisation. LINQs “Instant Insights” help to present the evidence to the business, creating buy-in at all levels for your new initiatives.
Watch our Applied Infonomics Webinar recording to learn more about how LINQ can enable your information ambitions.
To book a demo of LINQ and learn how to apply infonomics to your business, head here and provide your contact details.
If you’re ready to get started, you can sign up to a 30-day Free Trial below; we’re ready to help you truly understand the value of your information assets.