Rich veins of data

It was well understood some time ago that data would be a precious commodity in this digital age. Collating and analysing this data can provide valuable insights into what customers want.

“Businesses must walk a fine line between providing more tailored, personalised offerings to their customers, while still maintaining the customers’ trust through transparency and security.”

And the amount of data being collected across the digital economy these days dwarves anything thought possible decades ago.

The data and business analytics market, which was estimated at more than $307 billion last year, could triple in size by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights.

It’s not enough to just collect the data though. Companies must be smart and innovative around what they do with the data.

At the same time, businesses must walk a fine line between providing more tailored, personalised offerings to their customers, while still maintaining the customers’ trust through transparency and security.

Big opportunities

This presents both challenges and opportunities to companies in this space, particularly those with existing rich sources of data. And market dynamics tells us companies are well aware of the opportunity before them.

About 40 per cent of business leaders anticipate creating data, analytics and AI-powered enterprises within the next five years, according to a McKinsey & Co survey earlier this year. This made data analytics the top category for new business initiatives among survey respondents.

In our work at 1835i we have been across these trends for years and are constantly looking for ways to support our partner ANZ and its customers. As the external innovation and investment partner to ANZ we invest in, build or partner with businesses that are transforming financial services and how they are delivered to customers.

One way we do that is to either build from scratch or invest in fintechs seeking to innovate through the use of data, analytics and digital technologies. One such company is DataCo – the first commercialised business to launch from 1835i’s Business Creation Lab.

With data security being front of mind for every organisation in a world of cyber-attacks and data breaches, the aim of DataCo was to develop a secure platform which places privacy front and centre of every data interaction and collaboration.

New partnerships

It also sought to unlock value through commercial data partnerships for organisations and consumers, while ensuring data collaboration is performed in line with all the relevant privacy and data regulations.

DataCo’s technology, built in collaboration with ANZ and 1835i, securely combines data from multiple sources into a safeguarded and de-identified dataset on DataCo’s platform. This can provide valuable insights for companies seeking to better understand customer preferences.

After beginning its life in 1835i’s lab, DataCo was built to scale before being spun out as an independent company.

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Pictured (from left to right): Danny Tyrrell, Michael Bridgeman, Rami Mukhtar, Keshav Murthy & James Petterson from DataCo.

Recently ANZ announced a strategic partnership with DataCo which will allow de-identified ANZ customer and transactional data to be aggregated to produce insights for businesses through DataCo’s data collaboration platform.

The benefit of using aggregated ANZ data will help them perform targeted analysis, uncover spending trends and identify strategic opportunities for growth.

Embedding ANZ Transaction Banking insights into DataCo’s data collaboration technology provides valuable insights, while ensuring customers’ data is respected and protected.

The importance of the last point should not be underestimated. Following several high-profile data breaches in the last few years, customers have a strong interest in where their data is being stored and what organisations are doing with it.

Regulations around customers’ consent are constantly evolving and organisations must consider the data they collect and how it is used.

But by partnering and using de-identified data in a safe and standardised way, organisations can deliver personalised offers to customers and create value in a way that doesn’t compromise the security of the consumer.

Justin Greenstein is CEO of 1835i