What kinds of capabilities are most important to your business? It’s a common question, and the list will vary by organization, but it’s a good bet that advanced data analytics is on everybody’s list.
Advances such as high-speed networks, process automation and machine learning have pushed the concept of business and market intelligence far beyond traditional boundaries and into a realm where people are uncovering new knowledge daily.
It’s a two-way street—systems, devices and transactions generate mountains of data because of advanced technologies, and advanced technologies also make it possible to analyze vast amounts of data in new ways.
At the enterprise level, applications and cloud services can bring data aggregation and advanced analytics capabilities to all business users, allowing them to create interactive, immersive dashboards and reports that provide actionable insights and drive business results.
New opportunities and requirements for syndicated data
As businesses adopt these new capabilities, the meaning of enterprise data is also changing. It used to be that enterprise data referred only to what a company’s daily operations generated. Today, enterprise data could originate from both internal sources and external paid sources.
Purchased data, such as syndicated market information, used to reside in functional silos, so it had limited potential. Modern systems have made it possible to securely share all kinds of data across the enterprise and, increasingly, in real time.
Additionally, evolving data services, such as Microsoft’s Azure Purview for unified governance and Azure Data Catalog for sharing and augmentation, point to a future where enterprises will benefit from a growing marketplace of syndicated data.
Traditional syndicated data is collected by market research firms and sold to businesses with an interest in a specific market. For example, a retail brand might purchase and use aggregated behavioral data by ZIP code to plan geographically targeted promotions.
Retail and consumer product goods (CPG) companies have used syndicated data for years, but more types of data are becoming available. For example, organizations are using syndicated data to predict broader climate change and its potential impact on crop yield, moisture allocation and other factors that influence agricultural planning.
Although in the early stages, indications are that the market for syndicated data is poised for growth. In an August 2021 report from the firm ResearchandMarkets.com, researchers concluded that “a surprising number of enterprises do not realize they have options for solutions that involve combinations of different data types including (1) their own data, (2) other companies' data, (3) public data, or a combination of all three.”
The report, which looks at the data-as-a-service market through 2026, also noted potential opportunities for companies to capture and monetize the data they own by selling it as a syndication service.
Take a step forward with Azure data services
Whether you plan to monetize your enterprise data into a new revenue stream or simply augment your existing resources, improving your data infrastructure is a good step forward.
Azure Purview enables data governance management within cloud and on-premises systems. These capabilities are essential for securely and effectively sharing data resources as they grow.
Azure Purview provides tools for:
- Mapping data assets and their relationships for better governance
- Automated data discovery, lineage identification and data classification on premises, in the cloud and in cloud applications
- Semantic search for data discovery using business or technical terms
- Insights into the location and movement of sensitive data
Another prerequisite for effectively sharing data resources is enabling cataloging and tagging so people can repeat or draw on knowledge derived in prior uses. It’s all about enriching the value of the data.
Azure Data Catalog does this by:
- Letting people discover available data resources as they’re added
- Accelerating data discovery for analysts, developers, data scientists and other roles
- Keeping data in one place and letting users choose which tools to connect to the data
- Bridging the gap between IT and the business, so everyone can contribute insights about data
RSM helps you get the most out Azure by not only guiding you as you implement services but also showing your people how to optimize the data.
