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Data monetisation myths and misconceptions under the spotlight at upcoming webinar


Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2021
Varsha Ramesar, data and analytics cluster executive, iOCO.
Varsha Ramesar, data and analytics cluster executive, iOCO.

Monetising data presents the hope of new revenue streams for many businesses, but they could face complications and disappointments unless they get the basics right and understand exactly how data can be monetised. 

This is according to Varsha Ramesar, Cluster Executive for Data and Analytics at iOCO, who was speaking ahead of an iOCO and IBM webinar on AI Powered Analytics for Digital Acceleration.

Ramesar says there are fallacies around the monetisation of data – notably that by selling the data, an organisation can generate new revenue streams.

“Monetising data should not mean selling a database. The organisation doesn’t necessarily own this data, and in itself it is not unique if it comprises customer names and addresses or generic insights, for example. However, it does become more valuable and unique if you integrate it with other data, such as housing or retail information, which allows you to derive insights from it. And data becomes far more valuable when it supplies insights that drive efficiency, cost savings or new products and services,” she says.

Ramesar adds that many organisations are not in a position to monetise their data, as they have not yet got the data basics right.

“Organisations have to start by ensuring they have clean, quality data, and that it’s out of silos,” she says. “There is still not enough investment in data quality, and if business decisions are based on bad data, they will be bad decisions. Organisations also need to build proper business cases for the monetising of data, and create the right ecosystems to achieve what the business needs. You can’t simply throw more people or technology at the problem and expect a silver bullet: the magic comes at the integration of strategy, people, technology and data.”

Lisa-Giane Fisher, IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) leader for the Middle East and Africa, notes that IBV research has found that 30% of South African organisations surveyed said they were ahead of their peers in terms of identifying opportunities for monetising data; 27% said they were behind their peers, and 44% said they are on par with their peers. "Monetising data refers to the ability to acquire, integrate, analyse and derive insights from it, and then use this information to improve products and services, and create new products," she says.

Ramesar cautions that local organisations could face a ‘tsunami of problems’ if they do not take a step back and revisit their data models.

“When the pandemic happened, everyone tried to manually integrate data, but not in a strategic, sustainable way. But to be future-proof, they need it to be robust and predictable. Now is the time to take a step back and architect something that will be sustainable into the future. They need to get the basics right again,” she says.

Webinar on 27 October at 11:00 (GMT+2)AI Powered Analytics for Digital Acceleration

At the upcoming webinar on AI Powered Analytics for Digital Acceleration hosted by iOCO and IBM, in collaboration with ITWeb, Ramesar will be among the panellists unpacking the findings of the IBM Institute for Business Value’s new digital acceleration study.

The session will also discuss the factors that accelerate business, why data and analytics efforts can fail, and how IBM is enabling business transformation through its AI-powered analytics innovations.

For more information and to register for this event, go to https://www.itweb.co.za/webinar/using-ai-powered-analytics-for-digital-acceleration/

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