Data Monetization. Data Monetization. Data Monetization.
Every business executive chants this mantra like its a magical incantation for driving an organizations digital transformation. Heck, it reminds me of the Shame. Shame. Shame chant from the Game of Thrones.
And while most organizations talk about data monetization, most lack a plan and maybe even more importantly, a senior executive commitment to mandate the organizations Data Monetization opportunity. Turns out that data monetization is like teenage sex everyone talks about doing it but few are actually doing it.
Organizations need to get serious about data monetization, to create an executive directive that prioritizes the organizations efforts to uncover and monetize the customer, product, and operational insights (think predictive propensities) buried in the organizations data, and apply those insights to optimize or re-invent business processes, mitigate regulatory and compliance risks, uncover new sources of revenue (new customers, new audiences, new channels, new partners, new products, new services, new consumption models) and create a compelling, differentiated customer experience (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Getting Serious About Data Monetization
Organizations need a Data Monetization commitment that can provide a competitive advantage by leveraging the customer, product, and operational insights (predicted propensities) buried in the data to reinvent business processes, dis-intermediate customer relationships, and transform industry value chains.
Data Monetization Teenage Sex Conundrum
I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a duel with Drew Smith, hosted by Samir Sharma, about whether an organization needed a separate Chief Data Monetization Officer (CDMO) role to centralize and accelerate the organizations data monetization efforts. Drew took the position that the current Chief Data Officer role was sufficient; that adding another C-level role would just complicate matters and that we just needed to hold the business leaders accountable for their organizations data monetization efforts.
I, on the other hand and very much self-serving, argued that organizations need a new Chief Data Monetization Officer role one ring to rule them all with the corporate diktat to champion, drive and govern the organizations data monetization efforts. That instead of diffusing the organizations valuable data and analytics capabilities across multiple organizational silos (CIO, CTO, CDO, CDA,) that all of these capabilities should be consolidated in a single organization that owned monetizing the organizations data and analytic assets.
If data is the new oil, then there needs to be a clear corporate mandate on the business importance of Data Monetization. But todays CDO data monetization mandate is not clear, which is confirmed by the IDC Study Chief Data Officers: The New Business Leaders which highlights the four archetypes or models of data leadership Governance Guru, Digital Innovators, Operational Optimizers, and Analytics Champions without once mentioning data monetization as a priority.
And as if thats not enough, here are IDCs Top Ten IT industry trends for 2021 (see Figure 2):
Figure 2: IDCs Technology Trends For 2021
Not a word about data monetization here either. And if these technology advisory organizations dont think data monetization is important, then why in Gods green earth would we expect our business partners to think its important.
Its time for senior executive leadership to get serious about Data Monetization.
Getting Serious About Data Monetization
To move beyond the Data Monetization Teenage Sex stage, organizations must to get serious about the data monetization opportunity. And by serious, I mean the following:
- Secure Executive Leadership Public Support. None of these soft assurances that yes, data monetization is important to the organization. Instead, establish a clear organizational data monetization directive, with CEO sponsorship who can remove organizational hurdles and drive cross-organizational collaboration. And make the announcement public so there is no doubt about the strategic importance of Data Monetization. Plan several Lunch & Learn and educational sessions to establish a common data monetization mission and charter, institute a common data monetization vocabulary, and embrace the power of organizational collaboration and improv to accelerate the organizations data monetization efforts (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Creating Organizational Improv with Team Empowerment
- Benchmark Organizations Data and Analytics Business Maturity. Understand the organizations business maturity vis-Ã -vis industry best practices with respect to leveraging data and analytics to power the organizations business models. Develop a baseline to not only measure the organizations effectiveness today, but also conduct executive future vision workshops to help business leadership envision what successful data monetization looks like (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Big Data Business Model Maturity Index
- Adopt Value Engineering Mentality. Embrace a Value Engineering framework to invest the upfront time to quantify the value of addressing the organizations key business initiatives, as well as the costs of not addressing the business initiatives. Decompose the business initiatives into the supporting business and operational use cases (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Data Science Value Engineering Framework
- Engage Business Stakeholders Early in the Process. Identify and engage the key stakeholders who either impact or are impacted by the use cases on Day 0. Identify their personal win conditions and identify areas of mutual benefit across the different business functions. Co-create with key stakeholders by identifying and prioritizing the metrics and KPIs against which the progress and success will be measured (see Figure 6).
Figure 6: Stakeholder x Use Case Mutual Value Mapping
- Ensure Sufficient Budget! Confirm that sufficient funding is in the budget to create and nurture the data monetization organization. Establish a Data Monetization Governance council for measuring and learning from the organizations data monetization efforts as well as driving the sharing, reuse and refinement of the corporates data and analytic assets.
Data Monetization Teenage Sex Conundrum Summary
Finally, the organization needs an executive role whatever you might call it who has the responsibility and authority to drive the organizations data monetization efforts; to develop, share, reuse and continuously-refine the organizations data and analytics assets. The goal should be to consolidate, not diffuse, the data and analytic assets that have been scattered across CIO, CTO, CAO, CDO, and other technology-centric C-roles.
Its time to get serious about Data Monetization because I ain’t got no time for green bananas.
