How Businesses Monetise Data in 2023: The Lemonade Stand Edition
I had the pleasure of attending an event last week with a presentation on Data Monetisation. Essentially, there are four different avenues that modern businesses pursue in order to monetise their own data or client data. We'll deep dive into these below including: Data as a Service, Insights as a Service, Analytics Enabled Platform as a Service, and Embedded Analytics as a Service. Don't worry, I'll explain each one using the good old fashioned Lemonade Stand business example.
1. Data as a Service (DaaS)
Imagine you have a lemonade stand, and you want to know the best time to sell lemonade to get the most customers. Your friend has been keeping a record of when people buy lemonade from other stands. They offer to share that information with you for a small price. This is similar to Data as a Service - someone gives you useful information, and you pay them for it.
In the Australian economy, companies like Equifax, Quantium and the ABS can be considered data brokers providing Data as a Service as they accumulate public information or curated datasets to be sold.
2. Insights as a Service (IaaS)
Now, instead of giving you the raw information, your friend goes one step further. They provide the means by which you can analyse the data and tell you that selling lemonade between 3 pm and 5 pm will get you the most customers. Services to help the lemonade stand operator understand what their data means and how to use it.
Companies like Power BI, Tableau and Looker are under this wing.
3. Analytics Enabled Platform as a Service (AEPaaS)
Imagine if you had a magic box that could help you set up your lemonade stand, decide the best time to sell, and even create a fun game for your customers - all based on the information your friend gave you. That's what Analytics Enabled Platform as a Service does. It's a tool that helps businesses use data in many different ways to make their work easier and more successful.
Modern services that fall into this category include Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and Databricks.
4. Embedded Analytics as a Service (EAaaS)
Let's say you have a fancy lemonade stand app on your tablet that helps you keep track of how much lemonade you've sold. One day, a new feature appears in the app that shows you when most people buy lemonade and suggests the best times to sell it. That's like Embedded Analytics as a Service - it adds helpful information right into the tools you already use, making it super easy for you to make good decisions.
The most common example of this would be any in-built CRM analytics or reporting function for example HubSpot's dashboarding options or LinkedIn's Campaign Manager dashboard.
Conclusion
It's important to understand that data can provide value in many different contexts - whether that's raw datasets for a specific area, tailored insights or the platform itself!
