VIDEO | West Monroe Data Analytics Strategy Innovation Fellow: Self-Funding Data Environment Should Be a Primary Goal for CDOs

(US and Canada) Douglas Laney, Innovation Fellow, Data and Analytics Strategy at West Monroe, speaks with Kellie De Leon, Treasure Data’s Senior Director of Marketing, in a video interview about borrowing against the future value of data, the term “infonomics,” and the need for measuring data as an actual asset.

Laney states that visualizing and envisioning the future of any data product is essential. He mentions a previous suggestion to borrow against the future value of data to help develop systems today.

According to Laney, large brands productizing and licensing their data can eventually lead to a self-funding data environment. It should be a primary goal for any chief data officer. He continues, mentioning multiple examples of how organizations can monetize their data.

Next, Laney breaks down the concept of “infonomics,” a term he coined while at Gartner. He says it has three main components — managing, monetizing, and measuring data as an actual asset.

Sharing the hypothesis that organizations don't manage their data like other assets, Laney maintains it is because they don't measure data value. He points out that organizations are not compelled to measure data as an asset according to current accounting practices, although it meets the criteria of an asset.

Laney explains that any asset must be managed well to monetize or generate economic benefits. So, the idea behind ‘infonomics’ is to get companies to start measuring the value of their data and generate new value streams.

Elaborating, he says data is a major part of acquiring businesses today and requires data diligence. It is important to assess the data stack of an acquired company for potential compliance and quality issues and identify ways to use it to generate new revenue.

CDO Magazine appreciates Douglas Laney for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.

See more from Douglas Laney

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