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Announcement(s):
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Lastly … and this is BIG NEWS … our transaction data is now available at more granular “row level”.
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Theme that emerged in this week’s email is the market for data is maturing and leaders within companies have an opportunity to make an impact.
QUOTES
“The most impactful data folks I’ve worked with in my career have not … been elbows of data—folks who have insisted on being involved in driving the company forward, whether they were invited to or not.“
News Articles
Podcasts
Cool Charts
Final Thoughts (Reading Better)
Appendix
#1 – Katie Bauer published Elbows of data. January 2023.
My Take: The author takes a contrarian look at how data people can make the biggest impact. In her experience, “the most impactful data folks I’ve worked with in my career have …. been elbows of data—folks who have insisted on being involved in driving the company forward, whether they were invited to or not”. Leaders disrupt. Many times, to change a culture and prove value you need to clearly demonstrate why you need to be a part of the conversation. I think this can be good advice for any role…you need to (professionally) demonstrate impact. On some level, you need to get comfortable with self-promotion … or at least figure out how to self-promote in a way that works for you. Stay in the conversation and add value.
#2 – Struck Capital published Why We Invested: Nomad Data. January 2023.
My Take: Interesting to hear the view of a VC firm investing in the data space. There is a huge need for companies to optimize the way they acquire, manage, and utilize external data. Nomad is addressing this problem. In the end, the platform Nomad is building should benefit both data buyers & data sellers.
#3 – The US Congress’ Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022. Introduced May 2022. Passed into law December 2022.
My Take: There is no way anybody reads all this stuff. This document is 208 pages. This bill is supposed to level the playing field for smaller investors by standardizing data in such a way that financial data is more easily accessible. Say what you will about the inefficiencies of government, but this is a worthwhile effort and will have a positive impact on the overall financial markets.
Summary from the bill:
“To amend securities and banking laws to make the information reported to financial regulatory agencies electronically searchable, to further enable the development of regulatory technologies and artificial intelligence applications, to put the United States on a path towards building a comprehensive Standard Business Reporting program to ultimately harmonize and reduce the private sector’s regulatory compliance burden, while enhancing transparency and accountability, and for other purposes.”
Summary from the American Economic Association:
“The FDTA requires seven of the financial regulatory member-agencies of the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council to adopt and apply uniform data standards (i.e. a common data format) for the information collected from regulated entities. As a consequence, the data standards will enable better information processing, software-enabled filing preparation, and data reconciliation.”
#4 – Spaceknow published Year in Review: 12 Charts That Mattered. December 2022.
My Take: I like these year end summary pieces. This is an interesting review of the past year and how Spaceknow’s satellite data tracked with different KPIs. No doubt more to come in 2023 as the world is just getting more interesting every day.
BONUS: Dan Entrup’s It's Pronounced Data year end review (thanks for the shout out!)
#1 – Auren Hoffman’s World of DAAS podcast interviews Thani Shamsi of Datarade. January 2023.
My Take: Full disclosure, Datarade has been a good partner for 90 West. Auren & Thani discuss all the big issues in the cycle. Data discovery, building trust, the review process, etc. I found myself taking more notes than usual during this conversation.
Highlights (41-minute run time):
Minute 01:00 – interview starts; Datarade solving friction of data discovery
Minute 02:00 – how can data providers improve the sales cycle & sell more data
Minute 04:00 – Trust is a major factor, how to build trust? (answer = transparency)
Minute 09:30 – improving the data review process
Minute 13:00 – what type of firms are using data / should use data?
Minute 15:00 – how to demonstrate ROI of your data?
Minute 17:00 – discussion of pricing & how this is handled (tough problem)
Minute 21:30 – what are the exciting new datasets in the market (AI training data)
Minute 25:00 – medical data strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
Minute 27:00 – Will more “synthetic data” hit the market?
Minute 30:45 – “join keys” & data standardization
Minute 33:30 – How has GDPR impacted the data market?
Minute 35:00 – data marketplace vs data exchange
Source: NewVantage Partners published their Data and Analytics Leadership Annual Executive Survey 2023. January 2023.
Summary Forbes article found here.
What is this?
“We interviewed data executives at 116 diverse Fortune 1000 organizations. 85% held the CDO/CDAO title. We asked about the state of data in their organizations and their opinions on the evolution to being a data-driven business. We also queried their thoughts about their roles and departmental evolution.”
A couple of highlights:
Nice trends here. Page 14. Highlight is mine.
Page 16. Highlight is mine.
Source: Farnham Street published Reading Better: Retaining and Applying What You Read
I came across this article and it struck me for a couple different reasons.
First, because I am re-reading a great book right now. Anna Karenina. It is long. It takes time. But it is extremely well written & the type of book, for me, in which the pages fly by.
One of the reasons I chose to re-read this book is that my daughter had read it for school and scribbled notes all over the margins. Seeing her thoughts on the pages has been fascinating for me. It gives us something to talk about and provides me a glimpse into her brain.
Second, the linked article says that if you find a book you like, read it again! As things slowed down heading into Christmas and New Year, I came to the realization that I am happier when I have a good book to read. I have struggled recently to find a good fiction book I enjoy (recommendations welcome!) … so, I revisited an old book that I knew I liked.
Third, the section on note taking was relevant to me. The practice of putting together this weekly email is my way of taking notes on articles. I know that, even if I “just” have to put together 3-4 sentences of “my take” … I need to comprehend what the author is saying.
Last, the four levels of reading made me think of how important it is to read and comprehend…not just read of the sake of reading.
Happy reading!
BONUS: H/T Dan Entrup