Many organizations do not manage customer data as a corporate asset, and ignore the monetary value of that data, according to Gartner Inc.
"Digital business is having a significant impact on customer data," Douglas Laney, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. "The growing wealth of information—from social media, location and context-sensitive data collected from mobile devices and the Internet of Things—is increasing the volume, velocity and variety of that information, radically expanding the scope of the 360-degree customer profile."
While some enterprises have starting to invest in big data technologies in relation to their customers, with a goal of direct or indirect monetization, many companies lack business models to monetize their customer data, the firm says.
Gartner recommends that organizations apply infonomics principles to customer data by managing it with the same discipline as any other corporate asset.
"Organizations should use valuations of their customer data as the basis for prioritizing investments in technologies that help them acquire, maintain, enrich, archive and apply information,” Laney said. “They should also calculate thorough business cases when designing monetization products.”
By doing this they will be able to create the needed transparency for their stakeholders regarding the profitability of monetization efforts. It will also allow them to present proof of the valuation of their information assets during a merger or acquisition, or in an initial public offering scenario, Laney said.
