VIDEO | West Monroe Data Analytics Strategy Innovation Fellow: Companies Should Take a Real Asset Management Approach to Data

(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 the reasoning behind his book “Infonomics,” the need to treat data as an asset, and the outcome of that approach.

In his book, Laney discusses the key reason for writing “Infonomics: How to Monetize, Manage, and Measure Information as an Asset for Competitive Advantage.” The logic goes back to the 9/11 terror attacks when companies lost their data, and the insurance industry refused to compensate them.

Laney says that data meets the definition of an asset and needs to be managed by applying real asset management principles and practices. This is primarily because data can be monetized and generate value.

He says that about 20% of organizations were monetizing their data externally when he had completed writing the book a few years back. Today, it is closer to 70% or 80%. Laney reveals that West Monroe is faced with a healthy demand from companies to help them measure the cost, market value, contribution to income, the net asset value of their data, and their data products.

According to Laney, companies are doing this to:

• Budget better for data management.

• Bolster data literacy and culture.

• Get businesses to do more with their data.

• Claim corporate valuation premiums in M&A scenarios.

• Borrow against the value of their data.

He urges companies to take a real asset management approach to data management. Laney reveals that data-centric companies have a market-to-book value ratio nearly twice the average. Similarly, data product companies have a 3x market-to-book value. There are situations where the value of a company's data may be more valuable than the company itself.

Next, he mentions his book “Data Juice: 101 Stories of How Organizations Are Squeezing Value from Available Data Assets.” He highlights stories from his book, such as UPS’ optimizing routes to reduce driving and reducing CO2 emissions per year.

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

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