Trūata’s Michael Ingrassia discusses how privacy-driven data innovation can enable companies to use data responsibly without reducing its efficiency or creating excessive data waste.
There’s no denying the commercial benefits of leveraging the untapped potential of data. It has been ringing in the ears of executives since data was first hailed as the fuel of the future.
But with both consumers and regulators putting companies under increasing pressure to prove that they are powering their data use in responsible ways, a privacy airlock is now preventing that data from flowing efficiently, if even at all, through their commercial pipes.
How much data are you actually wasting?
Addressing the inherent complexities of data-driven transformation – harnessing the right tech, tools and people who can extrapolate valuable insights from data – requires expensive investment. But in addition, the fear of stepping out of line with regulators, or tarnishing brand value with consumers, is also causing costly repercussions for companies – some of which are obvious, while others are more pernicious.
In particular, the new wave of analysis paralysis enveloping organisations in our increasingly privacy-centric world is leading to vast amounts of data waste, thereby stifling growth in an economy where the ability to leverage advanced analytics will be a key differentiator between the businesses that struggle to survive versus those that thrive in industry 4.0.
From too liberal to too conservative
Data waste is not a new phenomenon. Initially, the volumes of data that companies were accumulating were not being put to work. Why? Because data was a new asset that required new knowledge and new tools.
However, as organisations began to understand how data could be leveraged to improve organisational efficiency and consumer experience, we entered the era of vast data exploitation which, unfortunately, also gave rise to increasing data misuse.
And that’s when the pendulum started to swing. Consumers became more aware of their digital selves, ‘data for gain’ became a bone of societal contention, and demands for regulatory intervention were eventually met.
However, the crack of the compliance whip through enhanced regulations and enforcement, while effectively introducing much-needed discipline to data handlers, has resulted in collateral damage as well. It has led many organisations to feel forced into over-rotating towards treating their data as a potential liability rather than a potential asset to drive growth.
The data advancements that propelled so many businesses forward now, ironically, hold them back. Only this time it is the fear of how to mitigate a tangible risk, rather than ignorance as to how to exploit an intangible asset, that is leading to mass data waste.
Read the full article on Silicon Republic.