New approaches create opportunity to turn data into value

As data becomes more bountiful and widespread, knowing how to turn it into value is key for organizations to make their investments worthwhile.

Advancements in AI and analytics gather more data and open up accessibility options to a wider audience than ever before. Bill Schmarzo, the "Dean of Big Data," discusses how organizations must "change their frame" when looking at data, which he calls "the superhero of the future," in The Economics of Data, Analytics, and Digital Transformation.

He encourages organizations to let go of outdated concepts and embrace a new mindset that uses data, analytics and economic concepts to turn data into value. Schmarzo believes the economics of data, analytics and digital transformation can create a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

Each chapter guides readers from focusing on being value-driven and building a foundation of economic concepts, including the economic value curve, law of supply and demand, and the economic multiplier effect.

Using AI to create nondepreciating assets with data, Schmarzo introduces readers to his own Economic Digital Asset Valuation Theorem and the investments required to draw benefits from creating, sharing, reusing and continually refining data and analytic assets.

"This affords organizations a once-in-a-generation opportunity to exploit the unique economic characteristics of their data, and analytic modules to derive and drive new sources of customer, product and operational value buried in their data," Schmarzo writes in The Economics of Data, Analytics, and Digital Transformation.

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To maximize the concepts in his book, this excerpt from the final chapter focuses on how organizations can empower employees by fostering a culture that encourages diverse perspectives and risk-taking, which Schmarzo acknowledges can be an uncomfortable change of perspective for many organizations.

"It's easier and more comfortable when everyone you work with has the same perspectives. But that's a formula for stagnation and at worst, groupthink," Schmarzo writes.

Schmarzo outlines five key tips for organizations to empower their teams from internalizing the organization's mission to encouraging organizational improvisation and embracing critical thinking.