The universe of data is rapidly approaching its “obesity stage,” and the fast pace of data creation and consumption shows no chances of slowing down.
Looking at consumer behavior certainly solidifies this fact. According to a new PwC report, the pandemic has driven the demand for internet access even higher, and as a result, has boosted global data consumption. More than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created daily, much of which ends up on the web. The internet is home to a vast quantity of public web data, which provides the seeker with insights as well as an accurate reflection of reality.
What’s more, our economy has accelerated to a near-real-time pace. This is the new challenge that we all need to conquer: how to keep up with such a fast pace and stay on top of the turbulence instead of playing catch-up. Is there a technology that can meet this need?
The simple answer is yes. During the last three years, web data has become a central component in what makes up the business fabric in many sectors. In the conquest of building a strategy and a mechanism that can predict the unpredictable as well as address the heavy dosage of competitiveness we all face, web data comes to the rescue in more ways than one. This can be seen by web data’s role in supercharging innovation and providing an on-demand view of your consumer base and market competition. Put simply, not having web data is equivalent to seeing a partial or incomplete picture when dealing with key business decisions.
Imagine fighting a pandemic like the one we’ve been facing without using web data. Using your own country’s data without taking into consideration the global effect of the vaccines taken from other countries’ data or different pandemic numbers around the world would make your country’s effort certainly fail.
The same goes for your data matrix. It needs to be inclusive and composed of different data sources to truly provide you with the data you care about. Relying only on internal data can simply provide you with a limited view, which may result in a bad decision that would, in turn, lead your business to an unfortunate, preventable outcome.
Web data platforms – the true meaning of having a competitive edge
When looking at web data consumption, we can see an upsurge trend. Even once reluctant sectors like the finance industry have started to add external data sources, better known as alt-data, to their data matrix strategy. A recent joint study conducted by Vanson Bourne and Bright Data found that nearly eight out of 10 financial services firms in the US (77 percent) find it easy to integrate alt-data into their decision-making processes, compared with 49 percent of UK-based firms. Around three-quarters (74 percent) of hedge funds have integrated alt-data into their processes, compared with 72 percent of insurance companies and 57 percent of banks, the study finds. Of the firms that use alt-data, 24 percent say they use it every day. The most commonly cited reason for use is investment decision-making. The use of alt-data for investment decision-making can leverage weather patterns, flight trackers, satellite imagery as well as social media posts and customer sentiments. What has been made clear is that web data platforms (SaaS platforms) that were once viewed as a compliance risk to this traditional sector have increasingly become more popular than ever before. Gone are the days where quarterly earnings reports could be relied on as the main source of data for decision-making. Financial services institutions are now seeking out alternative and external data for a reality check of the market and a live stream of our new real-time economy. The public web has clearly captured its place as a source of data that many count on before dedicating multiple resources to a specific business move. What’s also clear is that the aforementioned “data obesity” that we are all experiencing means the technology used to create and collect web data must be made specific enough for the growing and emerging needs of every sector.Web data platforms “made to fit” growth – real-life examples of success
The e-commerce sector has long used web data platforms first and foremost to follow sometimes up-to-the-minute pricing strategies of their competitors. Retailers are known for adjusting prices, sometimes dozens of times a day, especially during a pandemic, when digital shopping habits have been supercharged. An example of how web data can lead you to a win is Advantage Solutions, a leading US-based business solutions provider offering data and technology-enabled omnichannel solutions for consumer goods manufacturers and retailers. The company retrieves data to give clients a better idea of what the retail and e-commerce landscapes look like for them, including customer reviews. Advantage Solutions retrieves that data across multiple retail portals so that their clients have a one-stop shop where they can access all the information they need. “As online retailers are getting more sales, they need to make sure that their products are in stock and that they each have good descriptions and images online. Retailers also need to make sure they have enhanced content, displaying their products in the best possible light so they can convert views into sales,” said Tim Lam, Technology Director “Looking ahead, we plan to continue finding the data that we believe our customers would be interested in seeing. Sometimes we run through the web data, and we think: ‘Our customers would be interested in knowing this or this is hurting our customers.’ That’s what is going to set us apart from our competition,” Lam concluded.Where to start?
When experimenting with new technology, as with anything else, it’s better to start small. To ensure that you are obtaining the proper insights, test and verify the data you collect first, and then expand. Before you start obtaining data, be sure you know what you’re looking for. We live in what has become a real-time economy, and data has become the water that gives it life. Whether it is supporting automated and smart systems, providing insights into key decision-making factors that otherwise cannot be obtained, or, as is the case now, researching multiple fields – data, specifically public web data, is at the forefront. It is something that no corporation, organization, or business can afford to be without. To truly leverage everything the public internet has to offer, you simply need to be specific enough and sometimes imaginative enough in your search. All your vital business insights are there for the taking. This is a key lesson for many companies this year: Quarterly reports or analysis can’t keep up with the current market shifts – and these shifts are showing no signs of slowing down; if anything, the opposite is happening. Our new real-time economy is here, and it is driven by lots and lots of public web data.About Bright Data:
Bright Data is the global industry leader in making public web data accessible to all – something that was once only accessible to technology giants. The company’s SaaS web platform offers innovative and automated tools that level the playing field and empower companies, researchers, and everyday consumers to make informed decisions.About the author:
Omri Orgad, North America Managing Director, Bright Data – an industry-leading SaaS platform for online data collection and structuring.
