Part 3: Data Protection and the Future of Data
Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.
TRANSCRIPT:
Kathy Rudy
This brings up a really good point though about data and really offering it up like the London tube example. Did they have any worries or concerns about protecting that data? I mean they just gave all the data to the citizens. How do we and how do companies think about protection and managing data now?
Steve Hall
That's a brilliant question. I mean the whole data privacy thing and the data sovereignty piece and the data security piece, plus data rights. Such a tough, tough topic right now. You know, what if I break it down and look at a couple of perspectives, again, from a consumer standpoint and an enterprise standpoint.
As a consumer, I don't necessarily want all my data used. So I don't like turning cookies on where they can track me on everything. And what if I'm looking at barbecue grills and I'm reading the Wall Street Journal and, all of a sudden, I get a barbecue grill ad in the Wall Street Journal? I don't like that experience. Right? It doesn't work me. So, I like turning those cookies off. But I get how valuable that is.
I think the key thing for consumers is trust. I think if companies and enterprises tell people how they're using the data and you have a relationship that goes beyond just a customer relationship – one where I'm giving value and getting value back from it. I think we're open to it. I think organizations and companies are going to have to look at it. At least from a consumer perspective, that would be my first thought.
Sunder Sarangan
So, I'll take the other extreme. The consumers’ experience is quite often driven by personalization. In our own business and research, there is data about a provider or about a client that is extremely confidential. But in aggregate and in an anonymized manner can be hugely insightful. Just knowing that and having the controls to make sure you're never exposing the confidentiality is key.
So, you can still use the data in a way that is insightful to different stakeholders. So, understanding the attributes of data and what's okay what's not okay. Kind of an almost plain speak is an important aspect of decision making whenever you're thinking about data.
Kathy Rudy
You bring up a really good point, because my role as the Chief Data Officer, I lay awake at night thinking about, “What if we expose data that we're not supposed to expose?” And we have rigorous processes around the ability to anonymize that data. Because you're right; there's value in building groups of data together that are anonymized that can drive really good insights. And this is versus exposing single points of data.
So, there's different types of data that you may want to expose, or with the transparency just making everyone aware of how you're going to use their data. Okay. That's great. But you also have to protect that data, not only from a proprietary perspective, but you also need to think about how your users are using the data and make sure that they're using it appropriately that they understand the data. I worry about that as well. Do people really understand what they're looking at? Because using data incorrectly can be dangerous.
Steve Hall
I think we're going to get further and further away from a human or an individual being able to understand how that data is being used. Especially if you think about the millions of APIs and microservices that are out there and all the different ways that data is being used. Right? Like Amadeus airline: passenger reservations. All they're doing is saying, “is a seat available or is a seat not available,” right? How many people in seat apps do we see, though, where people use it differently. And you go in and see, you know, do you want this amount of leg room, that amount of leg room, do you want this type of seat, do you want that?
There's all sorts of aspects of that that change that experience, similar to that TFL example we talked through. I don't think we can control that downstream. Just like the deals that we do with companies today. If I'm getting ESG data from somebody, they can't dictate how I use that data; they don't necessarily interpret the data for me. It's got to be developed in a way that is consumable across the supply chain that we no longer control. And that's going to be a different level of thinking for all of us as we think through, “how do we expose data.” Which will also drive through our strategy of what data needs to be and should be exposed.
Sunder Sarangan
That's right. And I would even go to the extreme. If data can be misused, assume it will be misused. So just protecting it through contracts is probably not good enough. It means you have to design to protect that exposure and prevent that misuse.
Kathy Rudy
But at some point, what you're saying, is that at some point in the value stream, you have to just let go. You just have to let go.
Steve Hall
That’s right: you just have to let go. I think when you design your API strategy and your microservices strategy and your overall data monetization strategy, you have to assume it's going to be used in ways that we can't even fathom now, and you just have to let go. So you provide things – I know it's hard for is right, like: “God, you know, I'm the only one that knows about this price point, what do you mean that somebody can use in a way I don't understand?”
But I think we've got to design to let go quite frankly, and once you do that, I think that's when you get the exponential growth in data strategies, which is why I'm such a huge proponent of data APIS versus just data services. I can't imagine what a Wall Street analyst is going to do with my data. You know, I could put a screen together for him, I could try to compete with Bloomberg and put a terminal together or something else. But I'd much rather say here's some great insights. You go, combine it with other insights in ways that you may figure out and tell me what's going on in it. And I think that's how we have to think going forward.
Kathy Rudy
Right, well, that's why we're good together, Steve, because I'm a little more “control.” You're a little more “let go.”
About the authors
Kathy Rudy
Kathy Rudy is Chief Data and Analytics Officer of ISG and a member of the ISG Executive Board. She was named to this post in January 2020. Kathy is responsible for the development of ISG data solutions and platforms to deliver new and even more valuable insights to our clients, as part of the overall ISG Platform strategy. She is working across the firm to enhance our data products, develop data-driven consulting assets, and increase our go-to-market effectiveness. Throughout her 20 years with the firm, Kathy has supported hundreds of client organizations as they leverage data to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness in their IT operations, build measurement programs and support critical sourcing decisions. She was responsible for the development of ISG Inform™, the firm’s next-generation data-as-a-service platform solution, launched in 2019. Before joining ISG in 2000, Kathy, a graduate of Michigan State University, was part of the Unisys team that managed the transition from internally delivered IT services to an outsourced environment for the City of Chicago.
Sunder Sarangan
Steve Hall
As the leader of ISG’s business in EMEA and an Executive Board Member, Steve provides strategic insight and advice to help ISG’s clients solve their most critical business challenges, helping them adopt and optimize the technology and operating models they need to compete successfully. In particular, he uses his long experience and broad expertise to challenge and inspire them to think about their risks and opportunities in new and unexpected ways.
Past achievements for clients
Steve leads his team’s engagement with clients with an industry-recognized and highly valued perspective on the most important trends in business and technology. He asks and answers the big questions: Why do you need to transform? What’s your best way forward? What do you need to accelerate? And where should you invest your technology dollars to make it all happen?
Among his many client success stories, his ability to take in the big picture, define the problem and connect the dots to the right solutions helped one legacy postal and shipping giant transform itself into a modern logistics powerhouse. He also guided a global energy industry leader through a complex operating model and IT provider transition, helping them see past the obvious cost cutting measures to identify the root causes of their challenges—and delivering savings far beyond what they had imagined.
