Bentley Incorporated : Why data is the key to better decisions

I N D E P E N D E N T P U B L I C A T I O N B Y					R AC O N T EU R . NE T	# 076 4	19/0 9/2021

FUTURE OF DATA

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D E M O C R A T I S A T I O N

Unhidden figures

It's the business buzz phrase of the moment, but is 'data democratisation' such a good idea when so many of us find it hard to deal with statistics?

Josh Sims

I

t was Clive Humby, the mathema-

sensitivities about data ownership, espe-

necessarily believe what they're presented

tician and data scientist behind

cially in larger organisations. A recent

with. For instance, respondents to a 2018

Tesco's Clubcard, who coined the

­multi-industry study by McKinsey found

survey by Experian said that they consid-

phrase "data is the new oil". It has since

that, for teams requesting access to inter-

ered 30% of the data held by their firms to

become something of a corporate cliché,

nal data beyond their departmental remit,

be inaccurate on average.

uttered by every consultant and CEO who

the response time could be measured in

This is not the only issue of trust that

wants to show how deeply they understand

months in 53% of cases.

affects data democratisation, according to

the digital economy.

O'Kane points to one retail bank's

Kevin Hanegan, a founding partner of the

For Ved Sen, head of business innovation

board-level diktat that ordered the central-

Data Literacy Project and the chair of its

in the UK and Ireland for Tata Consultancy

isation of all data overnight but also gave

advisory board.

Services, this maxim doesn't quite ring

reassurances that no material would be

"The number one thing I hear from the

true. He would instead describe data as

used without the consent of the team that

many CEOs and CIOs I talk to is that they

the case that [when it comes

"the new plastic", because "we create a lot,

originated it.

don't feel ready for the democratisation of

to data analysis] people don't

we struggle to know what to do with it and

data, because they don't trust employees to

know that they don't know."

it tends to turn up in the wrong places. And,

make the right decisions using it," he says.

This applies even in prof­

for all the talk about the democratisation of

"There's a lot of talk of software being the

essional circles where a good

data, business is not yet culturally geared

solution, but technology is the least part of

understanding of data might be

up to handle this. There's a lot to do."

this. Anyone given access to data needs to

considered crucial. A study of 492

Certainly, there are benefits to be had

be able to interpret it. Until then. it's like

physicians­

for the Journal of the American

from democratisation: the relatively new

The number one thing I

giving someone a black box that says 'the

Medical Association this year, for instance,

school of thought that data should be made

answer is A', to which their immediate

found that their assessments of pre-test

readily available in an organisation­ rather

hear from the many CEOs

reaction might be 'why is it A? How would I

data led them to overestimate the likeli-

than being kept in silos. The idea is that

know?'. There isn't a tool to bring about

hood of breast cancer in a patient by 976%.

this provides a basis for more informed

and CIOs I talk to is that

this change. It won't happen overnight."

Small wonder, then, that a 2020 survey

decisions throughout the enterprise while

they don't feel ready for

The lack of trust is part of a bigger weak-

by data analytics company Qlik found

also encouraging innovation. Some of its

ness with the democratisation concept:

that only 17% of lay employees considered

proponents even claim that empowering

the democratisation of

the fact that most people struggle to deal

themselves confident in handling data.

employees by "digitising"­

a company, as

data, because they don't

with statistics. A recent study in the US

More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents

Western Union calls it, could grant it a

found that 46% of high-school graduates

admitted that they felt overwhelmed by

game-changing competitive edge.

trust employees to make

were unable to estimate how many times

the numbers, while 19% said they had gone

employees mandatory training in certain

Yet only 27% of executives surveyed by

a flipped coin would probably come up

so far as to find other ways of completing a

aspects of data analysis.

MicroStrategy last year said they were con-

the right decisions using it

heads in 1,000 tosses.

task without using data.

"Given the sheer volume of data that's

fident that they'd built the right organisa-

"The problem, which has become clearer

The danger here is that there will be an

out there, it's fundamental that any busi-

tional culture to support a data democracy.

since the Covid crisis started, is that a lot of

expectation that lay employees possess

ness seeking to democratise data should

Indeed, the many hurdles to be surmoun­

statistics are counterintuitive and full of

the same understanding of data as its

also educate its people in using that data,"

ted in deposing a data dictatorship - aside

surprises. That's especially the case with

traditional­

keepers, the analysts. It's why

he argues. "Without learning how to han-

from the obvious ones, including simply

Once a fully accessible centralised data

brains like ours, which are simply not built

O'Kane sees a growing role for artificial

dle data objectively, we all have biases and

finding the time in the case of SMEs - are

store has been established, promoting it as

to be good calculators of, say, probability."

intelligence systems in filtering data into

will lean into our own experiences when

only starting to become clear.

such can be helpful, he says. For instance,

So says Stian Westlake, CEO of the Royal

more comprehensible packages and also in

presented with material that challenges

Matthew O'Kane is global head of artifi-

AT&T rebranded its internal online mar-

Statistical Society, which has found a

checking all ensuing decisions.

us. This training is not sufficient at most

cial intelligence solutions at tech services

ketplace, Amp, as a company-wide data

lucrative sideline as a training provider to

"After all", he notes, "a bank manager

companies, while the smartest firms are

company Cognizant. He believes that com-

hub last year. This sort of "personification

firms in industries such as pharma and

doesn't decide whether or not to approve

really­

investing in it."

panies need to handle the democratisation

can create trust in the data".

petrochemicals. He adds: "Our brains are

your loan anymore. A computer does."

But there is an argument that, even

process with kid gloves. In part, this is

And trust is vital. When employees are

good at seeing patterns, but struggle to see

This is also why education is important,

before a business addresses data literacy,

because of the potential interdepartmental

offered greater access to data, they don't

randomness when it's there. And it's often

according to Sen, whose company gives its

it must address its data dependency: the

belief that all data is valuable, even if it

doesn't help to solve any known problem.

THE BARRIERS TO DATA DEMOCRATISATION

THE DATA SKILLS GAP

"It's important for any business to rec-

ognise the dynamics of complexity in data

Percentage of companies that say the following factors hinder their use of data

What people who lack data-handling skills do when they need

- and the fact that zooming in on really

43%

to make a decision based on data

critical information can sometimes be

highly

predictive, better so than when

Data security and privacy concerns

7%

34%

using all the other data that might be

29%

Use a self-service tool

Ask a business

added," says Florian Artinger, professor of

Limited access to data

analyst for help

digital business at Berlin International

27%

University of Applied Sciences.

11%

He cites the wildly fluctuating prices

Lack of training

of airline tickets during the pandemic - a

27%

Make a

product of the data on which the industry's

Lack of sufficiently skilled people

gut decision

pricing model is based.

25%

"Making data more widely available can

empower employees' expertise, but we

Excessive complexity in existing systems

shouldn't be lured into thinking an idea

25%

that can be backed by data is neces-

Lack of an analytics strategy

sarily better than one arising from

24%

44%

experience or intuition. After

all, data can be used simply to

Non-intuitive and/or inconvenient tools

4%

'cover your ass' and justify

21%

inaction

or a bad move,"

Do their

Lack of a centralised tool for capturing and analysing data

Artinger

says. "What we

own research

21%

need first is a business

culture that knows not

Lack of proper technology

Ask the IT team for help

only how but when to

18%

use democratised data

Data analytics is not a key focus of the organisation

- and when not to."

MicroStrategy, 2021

Distributed in

Contributors

Belinda Booker

An award-winningbusiness journalist specialising in events and marketing. She has written for business titles such as Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine and The Grocer.

Danny Buckland

An award-winning journalist and blogger who writes for national newspapers and magazines about health innovation and technology.

Jack Apollo George

A semiotician, editor and writer, with work published in The Day and the New Statesman.

Dan Matthews

A journalist and the author of The New Rules of Business. He writes about a wide range of topics concerning business and sport.

Tamlin Magee

1. London-basedfreelance journalist who specialises in technology and culture.

Josh Sims

A journalist and editor contributing to a wide range of publications, including Esquire Wallpaper and Spectator Life.

Sally Whittle

A journalist and features writer covering business and internet technologies. She writes for outlets including Computing and InformationWeek.com.

Emma Woollacott

A technology writer specialising in legal and regulatory matters. She has contributed to Forbes and the New Statesman.

Publishing manager

Sophie Freeman

Managing editor

Sarah Vizard

Deputy editor

Francesca Cassidy

Sub-editors

Neil Cole

Gerrard Cowan

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Justyna O'Connell

Design and production assistant

Louis Nassé

Design

Pip Burrows

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Illustration

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Joanna Bird

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MicroStrategy, 2020

2 F U T U R E O F D A T A

DATATHE IMPORTANCE OF

The amount of data created and captured worldwide is forecast to soar in the coming years. This makes it ever more vital for businesses to understand the material at their disposal, with big data analytics and artificial intelligence set to play a growing role.

INVESTMENTS IN BIG DATA ANALYTICS AND AI TO MANAGE THE
PROLIFERATION OF DATA HAVE BECOME ALMOST UBIQUITOUS	NewVantage Partners, 2021
Results of a survey of 85 blue-chip companies
Percentage of large companies investing	Percentage of companies where the pace of investment is accelerating
2019		97.2%
	91.6%
2020		98.8%
	51.9%

202199.0%

91.9%

THE AMOUNT OF DATA IN EXISTENCE IS SET TO ROCKET	IDC, Statista, 2021

Volume of data and information created, captured, copied and consumed worldwide (trillion Gb)

200
															181
														147
150
													120
												97
100
											79
										64
50									41
								33
							26
				13	16	18
		7	9
	5
2
													Projected volumes
0
2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025

COMPANIES ARE STRUGGLING TO BECOME DATA-DRIVEN ORGANISATIONS

Percentage of firms that are achieving the following with big data analytics and AI

	Driving	Competing on	Managing data as	Well-articulated	Transformational	Forging a	Creating a data-
	innovation	data and analytics	a business asset	data strategy	business outcomes	data culture	driven organisation
2019	59.5%	47.6%	46.9%	0%		0%	28.3%	31%
2020	64.2%	45.1%	50%	0%		0%	26.8%	37.8%
2021	48.5%	41.2%	39.3%	30%		29.2%	24.4	24%
			%
								NewVantage Partners, 2021
BUSINESSES ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT	CULTURAL ISSUES PRESENT THE BIGGEST BARRIER
ACHIEVING GOOD RESULTS FROM	TO BECOMING A DATA-DRIVEN ORGANISATION	NewVantage Partners, 2021
THEIR INVESTMENTS IN BIG DATA
Percentage of companies saying the following is their biggest barrier
ANALYTICS AND AI IN THE FUTURE	People/business process/culture	Technology

Percentage of companies saying they expect successful outcomes

THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES CLAIMING THAT THEIR INVESTMENTS IN BIG DATA AND AI ARE DRIVEN BY"OFFENSIVE REVENUE GENERATION" IS DECLINING

Results of a survey of 85 blue-chip companies

Offensive	Defensive
2019
	91.7%					8.3%
2020
	89%					11%
2021
82.7%				17.3%
					NewVantage Partners, 2021

NEARLY HALF OF FRONT-LINE WORKERS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO DATA AND ANALYTICS

Percentage of the following roles that have access

Senior executives

Managers

Front-line workers

2017 48.4%

2018 73.2%

2019 62.2%

2020 70.3%

2021 96%

Yes

No / Too early to tell

4%

29.7%

37.8%

26.8%

51.6%

NewVantage Partners, 2021

19.1%	7.5%	9.1%	7.8%
2018	2019	2020	2021
80.9%	92.5%	90.9%	92.2%
FEW COMPANIES MAKE DATA AND ANALYTICS BROADLY
ACCESSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE ORGANISATION	MicroStrategy, 2020
Percentage of an organisation that has access to data and analytics
Less than 10% 10%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	More than 75%

5%

19%

32%

30%

14%

Global average

76%

81%

52%

Brazil

74%

76%

58%

Germany

78%

76%

58%

Japan

73%

90%

51%

THE BUSINESS BENEFITS OF USING DATA MORE EFFECTIVELY

Percentage of organisations that said they had achieved the following through their use of analytics

Improved efficiency and productivity

Faster, more effective decision-making

Improved financial performance

Identification and creation of new product and service revenue

Improved customer acquisition and retention

Improved customer experience

Competitive advantage

MicroStrategy, 2020

64%

56%

51%

46%

46%

44% 43%

UK

75%

80%

48%

US

81%

81%

48%

R A C O N T E U R . N E T 3

Commercial feature

How changes to data privacy rules will impact small businesses

Change is in motion in the world of data privacy and those changes will have a knock-on effect on businesses that rely on third-party data to generate sales. As a result, companies may need to get to grips with a new kind of data capture if they want to survive

onsumers have over time become C increasingly aware of data privacy issues and what sort of electronic footprint they have left on the internet. More and more, people are becoming interested in how much of their data is publicly

available, and what it is being used for. Following the adoption of GDPR regu-

lation, and perhaps sensing unpopularity among consumers and potentially more regulation in the pipeline, Big Tech has decided

HOW DOES GDPR AFFECT MY

ECOMMERCE BUSINESS?

80%

of The Economist's email list was lost when the GDPR hit

48%

of all ecommerce transactions are from repeat customers, so your current customer base may be your greatest asset as you deal with these changes to data privacy

64%

of UK consumers say businesses should use SMS more

to make changes to the way it operates, with companies like Apple and Google having incorporated, or in the process of incorpo- rating, privacy features into their platforms.

Apple's recent iOS 14.5 update, which affects all Apple devices and more than 1 billion people globally, saw users asked for the first time by their apps if they could collect and share their data, with the few that chose to opt into data collection also able to opt out at any time. The change has been ground-breaking, with just 15% of worldwide users choosing to opt into data tracking, according to mobile app marketing platform Flurry.com.

Meanwhile at Google, there are plans to phase out third-party cookies by 2023. Cookies are tiny tracking codes that exist on most websites and follow users around the internet, allowing advertisers to track people's online movements and target them with relevant ads. Instead of cookies, the tech giant is testing something called Federal Learning of Cohorts, which tracks groups of people based upon their common interests, as opposed to tracking individuals.

The high-level changes made by those operating at the core of data capture will inevitably affect businesses that rely on that data to drive product engagement and sales. For example, those operating in ecommerce, whether they be more established brands or smaller entrepreneurs making use of websites like Shopify and Etsy, will be forced to change how they gather data and interact with it if they want to continue to grow their customer base.

Third-party data is information collected indirectly from a user. Often, this data comes from a variety of sources and platforms, and is then stitched together to create a full user profile that includes an individual's preferences, behaviors, actions, and interests. Businesses currently make use of this data to target personalised adverts at individuals that might be interested in their product. Until recently it hasn't been something that could be explicitly opted-in to and, even now, many of us thoughtlessly click 'yes' when prompted to do so while browsing online and in doing so opting into various privacy requirements despite not knowing the terms we've agreed to.

To adapt to the privacy changes driven by tech, affected businesses will need to move away from third-party data, and instead use first-party and zero-party data. Zero-party data encompasses information that a customer has provided voluntarily to a brand, like an email address or a phone number, while first-party data contains information observed about someone on their own property, such as which items of clothing a person is browsing for while shopping on a fashion retailer's website.

The core difference here is that first- and zero-party data are consent-driven, while third-party data isn't. An all-encompassing name for the pair could be Customer- First Data™, because those data collection methods consider whether people want to engage with brands through explicit con- sent. They also come with a level of trust among consumers that third-party data would struggle to emulate, as tech companies like Apple and Google aren't responsible for the repercussions of selling their data to ecommerce marketers.

Switching data capture sources for businesses that are reliant on data to drive sales

The most important change every marketer will have to make is around de- prioritising third-party data and instead prioritising how you collect, store and use first-party data

might seem daunting, but, if done prop- erly, a new approach could help to foster stronger customer relationships and leave businesses in a better position to withstand any future changes to data privacy.

Given the obvious drawbacks to maintaining a third-party data strategy, businesses are likely to have to make major changes to their data marketing strategy that will see them adopt methods that will

give them access to Customer-First Data, like targeting an interest-based audience. That could mean that affected businesses spend more time and money getting customers signed up to a mailing list, or funnel resources into better understanding data capture from their website on social media pages.

In addition, businesses are also likely to approach advertising differently as future adverts will need to be targeted at a wider audience. For example, businesses may begin to make wider use of customer testimonials and reviews, as potential new customers are less likely to trust a web- site they haven't used before, and positive customer feedback is likely to ease their concerns. Advertising using consumer -first data is likely also to make greater use of influencer marketing, as influencers have a wide but loyal audience, many of whom share similar interests.

"The most important change every marketer will have to make is around de-pri- oritising third-party data and instead pri- oritising how you collect, store and use first-party data," says Kady Srinivasan,

Global Head of Marketing at marketing automation company Klaviyo.

"How do you do that? You flip the funnel. You focus on collecting enough high fidelity zero-party and first-party data - data you collect directly from someone, or you collect from someone's behaviour on your site - to be able to personalise your cus- tomer's experience at scale."

She continues: "As marketers, we're told to focus on building the top of the funnel, which inevitably means spending marketing resources on big advertising networks, but with the new privacy changes coming and a cookie-less future looming, you need to evaluate your investments across the entire funnel.

"Flipping the funnel essentially means that you should throw out your classic marketing playbook and instead start building your business from the bottom up. This strategy draws on the idea that if you already have high-intent, interested users, you can further engage them to drive deeper loyalty, more repeat pur- chases, greater word-of-mouth, and ultimately higher lifetime value."

Q&A

with Klaviyo's

Kady Srinivasan,

Global Head of Marketing

As an entrepreneur affected by the changes to data privacy, what's the first thing I need to do?

When you're dealing with changing consumer privacy laws, new technologies and plummeting marketing spend efficiency, focus first on building relation-

ships with your customers.

Rather than putting large amounts of spending into third-party data platforms, focus instead on customer retention, life- cycle marketing, and re-engagement strategies at various points of the funnel (like cart and browse abandonment, cross-sell and up-sell recommendations, loyalty pro- grammes, referral and word-of-mouth, product reviews and personalised web experiences). By leveraging these channels and the right data, you can start to de-risk your reliance on third-party platforms and all the privacy changes that are occurring.

There are also a few tactical things you can do to get ready. The first is to check your baseline metrics; gather your metrics on clicks as they are right now, so that you can track true performance when email open rates are no longer in the pic- ture. Segmentation will also be key, meaning you segment your email and SMS lists into groups like recency of signups, pur- chase, on-site behaviour and email or SMS engagement - the only signs of engagement

on SMS are clicks and replies, so if you hav- en't implemented an SMS strategy yet, now is the time. Lastly, test and learn. Work to understand what creative is compelling and engaging and adjust accordingly.

If I prioritize Customer-First Data™, is it realistic to expect to see the same sales volume as I had when I used third-party data?

If you're truly emphasising Customer- First Data and personalising your

If you're truly emphasizing Customer-First Data and personalising your strategy with your customers, you should see more sales volumes as well as more margin, return on investment (ROI) and more money to invest back into your business

strategy with your customers, you should see more sales volume as well as more margin, return on investment (ROI) and more money to invest back into your business.

In fact, in the first half of 2021, Klaviyo's customers saw nearly 100x ROI. In other words, for every $100 spent with Klaviyo's email marketing and customer data platform they averaged almost $10,000 in return. That's all cash that our customers can funnel back into their businesses in a way that they see fit.

Can you give me some practical, tried and tested tips on how to make the switch to Customer-First Data work?

Sure. Two really simple methods are making use of loyalty programmes and using automated emails to re-engage

site visitors. We've had clients that have made use of the aforementioned methods and have seen success as a result.

Bombinate, a UK-based curator of artisanal goods, for example, offers customers a cashback loyalty programme. Customers get 5% cash back every time they shop, plus access to additional cashback oppor- tunities. The business has obtained the Customer-First Data via the log-in required to access the cashback program, and customers can see how much they have available to put towards their next purchase.

Elsewhere, Grind, a London-based coffee brand, uses automated emails to re-engage site visitors. For those who forget to make a purchase, they send a series of abandoned cart emails, a practice that drives 41% of the brand's revenue. For customers who the business has determined are likely to run out of coffee pods soon, Grind sends out an automatic replenishment email to get customers to make another purchase. Such a strategy generates a further 19% of the brand's revenue.

I'm a consumer - do these changes mean my data will be more secure in the future?

We hope that with brands shifting their reliance from third-party to Customer-First Data, it will be a better

experience all around for customers. Not only will you be getting a more personalised experience, but you can also rest easy in the knowledge that all of the data a brand has collected on you is because you consented.

For more information visit klaviyo.com

4 F U T U R E O F D A T A

M A R K E T I N G

Poll position

With consumer data more accessible to them than ever before, brands are making valuable discoveries about the fast-changing preferences of their target audiences

Belinda Booker

W	hat if one tiny nugget of inform­		products and services more flexibly and
ation could unlock a huge new rev-		­create marketing campaigns that truly
	enue stream for a business? With		­resonate with their target audiences.
self-service providers making access to		Sometimes it starts with a hypothesis,
consumer data faster and cheaper, brands		as in the case of Bloom & Wild. During the
of all sizes are tapping into this resource		run-up to Valentine's Day this year, the
and uncovering new growth opportunities.		leadership team at this direct-to-­consumer
Consumer insights that once took weeks		flower brand wondered whether giving red
for a research agency to come up with		roses as a gift had become too much of a
(and charge thousands of pounds for) can		­cliché. To confirm its suspicion, the compa-
now be at the fingertips of anyone who		ny used research platform Attest to poll
wants them. This democratisation of data		1,000 consumers. It found that nearly 800
is transforming how brands connect with		of them would prefer to receive a thoughtful
their customers, enabling them to develop		present rather than something traditional.

"Red roses actually ranked as the least favourite gift that people had received for Valentine's Day," says Bloom & Wild's brand and communications director, Charlotte Langley. "That gave us confidence that we'd correctly sensed consumers' sentiments."

Armed with this information, the company took the bold step of discontinuing the sale of red roses and basing a PR campaign on that decision. This sparked debate across the nation and secured a 51% year- on-year increase in press coverage. It ended up being Bloom & Wild's most successful Valentine's Day to date.

Bloom & Wild

Building on a revealing discovery about Barbie

As well as confirming hunches, consumer data can help brands to put the findings of other types of research into context. When Mattel, the maker of Barbie, conducted a

study with neuroscientists from Cardiff University which indicated that playing with dolls helps children to become more empathic, it wanted to understand how important this factor would be to parents.

Mattel used OnePoll to survey 15,000 parents in 22 countries. This found that

Mattel

91% of respondents ranked empathy as a key social skill that they would like their children to develop, but it also revealed that only 26% were aware that playing with dolls could aid this process.

Seeing a huge opportunity to educate consumers, Mattel created both a marketing campaign promoting the benefits of doll play to parents across EMEA and an online hub with resources for parents, ­caregivers and children. These initiatives have contributed to the company's strong performance so far this year, with market

researcher NPD Group naming Barbie­ as the top seller in the global doll market in H1 2021.

"If you aren't actively listening to, and engaging with, consumers, are you even relevant as a brand?" says Mattel's head of insights for EMEA, Michael Swaisland. "We always aim to guide our innovation using what we learn from our ongoing engagements with kids, parents and soci­ ety at large. Keeping aware of the issues affecting people across the world is a vital component of a company's success."

Turning a TikTok craze into long-term growth

Large-scale consumer research isn't only for large, well-established players such as Mattel. It can also be hugely valuable for startups in helping to propel them to the next phase of growth.

Take Little Moons for example. The ice- cream dessert brand made its first foray into consumer research when it wanted to learn more about its target market, having built a loyal gen-Z fanbase on social media.

"You might think that the people who are motivated enough to follow your company on Instagram are the same people buying most of your product," says Little Moons' marketing director, Ross Farquhar. "Our Instagram following would suggest that our audience comprises mainly women in their late teens and early 20s. Yet consumer

profiling­ identified that the people driving most of the volume in premium ice cream are actually affluent over-30s."

This information proved crucial when Little Moons suddenly started trending on TikTok at the start of this year, with young people filming themselves shopping for its desserts in Tesco (which had been stocking the product since November 2020) and then

Little Moons

experimenting by mixing flavours. At the		the press to cover the story. Our theory was
end of January 2021, the brand's week-­on-		that, if we could get it into the Telegraph,
week sales at Tesco increased by 700%. But		the Express or the Sun, it was far more likely
Farquhar and his team knew that this		to become part of the cultural conversation
would be a short-lived spike if the craze		than if it stayed on TikTok."
remained the preserve of TikTok users.		The considerable amount of press cover-
"We recognised that, if the trend was		age achieved by the company helped to
going to translate into the business out-		give its sales even more of a boost. Research
comes we wanted, we'd need to take what		conducted by Attest before and after the
was happening on TikTok and make it		PR campaign found that prompted brand
accessible to people who weren't on the plat-		awareness of Little Moons had tripled
form," he says. "We therefore encouraged		among its target market.

If you aren't actively listening to, and engaging with, consumers, are you even relevant as a brand? Keeping aware of the issues affecting people across the world is a vital component of a company's success

Keeping a finger on the pulse

The pandemic has proved to be a boom time for consumer insights, as companies clamour to keep abreast of the public's fast-changing opinions and shopping hab- its. But, even though Covid crisis appears to be easing, brands would be well advised to keep their eye on the ball, warns Katie McQuater, editor of the Market Research Society's Impact magazine.

Even Mattel managed to fall short in this respect recently. The company may have made Barbie one of the most diverse and inclusive doll brands on the market, but it attracted unwanted publicity in August

after it released a collection themed on the Tokyo Olympics that didn't feature a doll that appeared to be Asian.

"To determine whether changes in consumer attitudes and behaviour are fleeting or indicative of a longer-term trend, businesses should maintain their investments in insight and put research at the forefront of their decision-making," McQuater says. "The fact that some are still making high­- profile missteps reinforces the need to ensure that your strategies and communications are backed by data on what consumers are thinking and doing."

Jevanto Productions via Shutterstock

P R I V A C Y

A big data debate: online earnings versus public trust

R A C O N T E U R . N E T 5

Commercial feature

Joshua Hibbert via Unsplash

Companies are collecting more and more data about their customers. Will this trend adversely affect their relationships?

Emma Woollacott

ometimes it seems that companies S know us better than we do our- selves, as they track our activities online and harvest all kinds of data. Cus-

saying they would avoid any firm that gave away sensitive data without permission.

Some companies cut the Gordian knot of trust by simply not collecting any data on their customers at all. For instance, digital commerce search and discovery platform Empathy.co uses a tool called MySearch to enable its clients' customers to register their preferences and interests on their own devices. The company simply reads the data, rather than storing the material itself. This means that, while that information can still be used to inform marketing activities, it can't be hacked or shared with third parties.

Empathy.co's founder and CEO, Angel Maldonado, says: "A consumer might go to one of our clients - for example, Music Magpie - because they're looking for an

from the Firefox browser, for example - is that we want to be transparent with our users about exactly what we're doing. That means they know what material we're collecting and they know we're going to use it responsibly," he says.

Under the system that Mozilla uses, known as Stay Clean, certain cookies are required for the basic functioning of a site - log-in details or language preferences, for instance - but those used for marketing purposes are blocked.

"We collect only the data that we need for the product, which is a bit different from the practice you see across the industry, where many companies are vacuuming up everyone's data," Erwin says.

He points to "dark patterns" in the design of consent mechanisms: in essence, trick-

Democratisation of data calls for a new philosophy

Data democratisation is the goal for a number of organisations, but there are many challenges standing in the way. Data lakes - but not as we know them - can provide an answer

tomers are starting to take notice.

The biggest snoopers in this respect, according to cloud storage provider pCloud, are Google - by a long way - followed by Facebook, Adobe, Twitter, Microsoft and Snapchat. Meanwhile, websites are busily sharing data with third parties, it adds, highlighting the Sun, AOL and Pandora as particularly keen exponents.

It's a growing trend, according to a KPMG survey of US business leaders, which found that 70% of companies have increased the amount of personal data on consumers that they have collected over the past year.

In many cases, this is happening without a great deal of thought, according to Orson Lucas, a KPMG principal who specialises in data security.

"I work with some customers where the data they collect is not necessarily something for which they have a direct business outcome in mind," he says. "They may simply collect this material, be it cookies, geo- location data or addresses, as part of the relationship that they don't necessarily have a commercial need for."

In another recent survey of US consum- ers, KPMG found that 68% were concerned about the extent of data being collected by businesses, while 40% said that they didn't trust companies to use their data ethically. Moreover, with serious cyber attacks on large organisations hitting the headlines on an increasingly regular basis, nearly half of the respondents were worried that companies can't safeguard their data.

A similar survey by McKinsey found that 87% of internet users said they wouldn't do business with a company if they had concerns about its security practices, with 71%

iPhone, say. The things they do on that site

• where they click and what products they look at - are stored only on their device. Only when it's used do we read that data. We don't write it and we don't store it."

Our approach is that we want to be transparent with our users about exactly what we're doing. That means they know what data we're collecting

• and they know that we're going to act responsibly

But not all companies can work this way. Some must store data because it's needed for their product or service to work prop­ erly. KPMG's research shows that consumers are more willing to share their data when companies are open about how they will apply it and can offer specific use cases. That is something that Marshall Erwin, senior director of trust and security at Mozilla, says the company tries to do.

"Our approach when we collect data with our own products - and we do collect data

ing users into approving the use of their data, either by making it far easier to opt in than to opt out, or by masking how their data will actually be used.

"We work very hard to avoid that in our own products," Erwin says. "The opposite of using dark patterns is being transparent

• telling users in simple, clear terms what data is going to be collected and how it's going to be used."
  Increasingly, organisations are moving towards this more fine-grained consent approach: rather than asking for general consent, they are stating clearly which information is harvested and the circum- stances in which it may be used. Not only can this approach improve compliance; it can also increase trust and actually help to build a better relationship with customers, because it gives them more of a feeling of control. For example, when consumers are told that health data from fitness apps may be used for medical research, half say they are willing for it to be used, according to the KPMG survey.
  When consumers opt to share their data, it can indicate that they're interested in a deeper level of engagement with a busi- ness, creating an opportunity to establish more constructive relationships.
  "When you think about it from the user's perspective, the reason that can help to build trust is that, as a consumer, you're basically telling the business: 'I am (or am not) comfortable with you keeping this data for these reasons,'" Lucas says. "Then, as a business, you can go deeper and say: 'Well, that's better. We can now understand you and what information you're comfortable with sharing.' It's all built on trust."

• the lifeblood of any modern organisation, the idea ofith data increasingly viewed as

democratising that data is taking hold among business leaders.

Put simply, data democratisation places the power of data into employ- ees' hands, rather than keeping it hidden from view or restricted to a select few. When access to data is limited, its potential is greatly diminished. But democratisation can provide fast and valuable data-driven insights, often on the front- line, where it is needed most.

However, more than simply making more data available to more people, the concept often requires a rethink about how organisations manage, distribute and consume data. It can also involve widespread cultural change across the business.

According to Gartner, by 2023, data literacy will become an explicit and necessary driver of business value, demonstrated by its formal inclusion in over 80% of data and analytics strategies and change management programs*. However, there remain some roadblocks on the path to data literacy.

One is the obvious influx of data that organisations are facing. In 2020, 64.2 zet- tabytes of data was created or replicated. Moreover, the amount of digital data created over the next five years will be greater than twice the amount of data created since the advent of digital storage.

Accessing and analysing this data is central to an organisation's innovation and agility - both critical in the current disruptive landscape. But alongside the sheer volumes of data, many enterprises must contend with disparate pockets of

"You need to have a different philosophy as to how data is consumed, stored, managed and accessed."

The ChaosSearch approach to moving, storing, organising and providing access to data quickly and efficiently is based on a data lake philosophy.

Hazel says the concept of a data lake is no longer bound by the time, complexity and cost restraints associated with some big data technologies from a few years ago. Cloud storage is the enabler of this lake philosophy.

Now, cloud object storage - as pioneered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and serving as the foundation of all the cloud providers - is the simplest and most secure way to store data that can scale infinitely but cost effectively.

"A lake or cloud storage makes it so easy to stream data in. There's no complexity of standing anything up. There's no schema to structure it in a format, it can just be consumed. You just set it up and forget it," says Hazel.

Data is the lifeblood of organisations, and when it takes weeks and months to get access to it, it's a problem

scale, now takes weeks or even maybe a day to stand up. That to me is a huge democratisation move."

It is also important to acknowledge that the difference between the old and new way of approaching data lakes is that now they can be activated for generating everyday business value.

"A lot of cloud storage platforms are archiving data for security or compliance. If their siloed databases fall down, they send it to the lake. We had to tell customers that they could activate it as their primary analytical source," says Hazel.

"We tell our customers: 'Those use cases you're running for log analytics or for security, or you're using maybe Snowflake for business analysis, what if you had one platform with a lake philosophy that we activate to perform those use cases without changing a thing?'"

Additionally, because it plugs directly into enterprises' existing cloud object storage, they can have role-based access control for different departments and users, with access rights granted immedi- ately. There is no need for a data engineer to wrangle the data, a team of engineers to format it, or a database administrator to define schema and relational tables and provide back controls.

"You could self-serve, and once you can self-serve the data is democratised," says Hazel. "You have to rethink how you manage information, as well as reinvent how to access the information."

By 2022, IDC says 90% of corporate strategies will explicitly mention information as a critical enterprise asset and analytics as an essential competency. Removing any gates to data literacy will be imperative to an organisation's agility

OPINIONS ABOUT PRIVACY AMONG BUSINESS AND CONSUMERS	KPMG, 2021

Percentage of US business leaders who...

70%

… report that their firm has increased the amount of personal data it has collected from consumers over the past year

62%

… acknowledge that their firm should do more to strengthen its existing data security measures

33%

… believe that consumers should be concerned about how their personal data is used by their firm

Percentage of US consumers who…

86%

… say they are becoming increasingly worried about data privacy

68%

… are concerned about the volume and nature of the data that businesses are collecting

40%

… don't trust businesses to use their personal data ethically

30%

… aren't willing to share their personal data for any reason

data, siloed across the organisation in applications and systems.

At the same time, current technology limitations are preventing easy and cost-effective access to that data. In the era of big data, legacy systems had to be provisioned and con- figured, and the information entered into databases. This could take months and inhibits access to vital and time-sensitive data. And because of this cost and complexity associated with legacy tech- nology, few organisations can afford true democratisation of information.

These are all gates that stand in the way of data democratisation, says Thomas Hazel, CTO & founder at ChaosSearch.

"These gates - whether time, cost or complexity - are preventing companies from being data literate," says Hazel. "You can have hundreds of people in your organisation, and it takes weeks, months, and even years to stand up infrastructure to access the data. Data is the lifeblood of organisations, and when it takes weeks and months to get access to it, it's a problem.

At the same time, he notes that many enterprises want a centralised way to identify what data they have and get access to it. The problem is, there aren't solutions that can take advantage of a lake philosophy.

ChaosSearch is a new way to represent information. Supporting multi-model data access methods, ChaosSearch makes data simultaneously available through Elastic, SQL and, in future, machine learning APIs. The ChaosSearch Data Lake Platform can connect to and index all data within a customer's own cloud storage environment - making it fully searchable and immediately available for analysis with existing data tools.

"We have built the technology to remove those gates to democratise that information because those old architectures, by definition, can't," explains Hazel.

"This combination of innovation with a new architecture and a new philosophy means what used to take months, or maybe years, to build out at petabyte

and growth.

"If your business isn't adopting this new philosophy, you're in trouble," says Hazel. "If you can't access information, you're going to be left out. The time is now. You can start sending your data to your lake, without having to make a choice, it's just a philosophy choice."

• Gartner, 10 Ways CDOs Can Succeed in Forging a Data- Driven Organization, Mike Rollings, Alan D. Duncan, Valerie Logan. Refreshed 15 October 2020. Published 22 May 2019. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the US and internationally and is used herein with permission

For more information please visit chaossearch.io