The saying goes, “data is the new oil.” This may or may not be true, but it means that the acquisition of data is extremely valuable and can be used for many things. It is the future of the world in many ways. The storage, analysis, and implementation of information will make people rich and lead to much scandal and ethical conundrums.
Businesses in the United Kingdom are leaders in data on people and tech companies in the United States siphon data from social media platforms. Not only is data worth tons of money, its uses are many. This is why businesses around the world will embrace master data management (MDM) to make the most out of their data and own information usually kept by a few major companies.
What is master data management
Master data is essentially the narrowed and most useful part of the company’s data. It needs to be managed carefully. Businesses will usually have to put the information into software to analyse and organise the data. It is both a creative and technological endeavor.
You need to know how to sift through the information and make the most of it, but MDM will continue to change as time goes on. With six different types of data and probably more variations on the way, managing all of this and making money off it will define not just the economy but the way we work and live as a society.
Six forms of data
To manage the data a company has, it’s necessary to understand its various forms and what they do. Unstructured data is the most loose and varied form of data, but the way it is used will surely be innovated. This is the data you get from the internet—emails, PDF files, website articles like this one, corporate intranet portals, and marketing collateral.
Transactional data is information about system transactions such as sales, invoices, claims, deliveries, and other non-monetary engagements. Metadata is data about, essentially all the information about a particular piece of data than be stored and utilised in many different ways. Hierarchical data stores relationships between other sets of data. It can be stored as part of an accounting system or as descriptions of tangible organisational structures and product lines.
Reference data is otherwise known as external data. It is the data related to operations outside the boundaries of the business and shared across transactional data objects like countries, currencies, and time zones. Used to categorise data, reference data is pertinent information to any tech company.
How data can be used
Data can be used in many ways. It provides information about customers and clients, which can change the way the business markets itself and operates. If that information isn’t relevant to the company’s model, data can also be sold to others. The total data on people in the world amounts to billions. You can even try to determine the worth of your own personal data.
The acquisition of data changes whole businesses. It can illuminate holes in strategy or a new direction to go in. As time goes on, companies both large and small will figure out new ways to use their data and monetise its information. Data may become the single most valuable thing in the world of the future.
Europe and the future
While the United States and the United Kingdom have begun this transition to a world where data informs some of the most powerful companies in the world, most of the world hasn’t yet started exploiting digital information in the same way. Japan and Korea are ahead in technology as well, but much of Europe has not yet embraced data management. It is both time-consuming and costly, but if you are willing to put in the effort it can make you rich.
More and more businesses around the world will work with data, sell data, and utilise it to innovate. As the amount and worth of data increase, there will be inevitable scandal and immoral acquisition, sale, and use of data. Privacy is important and most of us give up our right to it because we don’t read the social media terms and conditions. This is the engine of social media advertising and other aspects of the tech field. It doesn’t appear as though it is coming to an end and that’s why more European businesses will embrace data management—to get a piece of the pie.
| Ryan Beitler is a writer, journalist, and blogger who has written for The Slovenia Times, Paste Magazine, New Noise Magazine, and many more. |
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