Research Business Daily Report - 12/20/12 - Value of company data, data scientists, ftc

Welcome to your Research Business DAILY Report. Sponsored by Mobile Posse, the way advertisers, content providers, wireless carriers and you can proactively reach consumers on their mobile phones. What's the value to companies of their data? The Executives' Club of Chicago's Business Technology Leadership Program tried to answer that recently. According to InformationWeek's Ellis Booker, Gartner VP of Analytics & Information Management Doug Laney said information has a discernible value, however financial accounting still "explicitly excludes" data. Gartner clients seek new revenues from their data assets, they are being told that "dark data" (defined as information a company already captures but does not use) can be "spun into gold." Insurance giant QBE North America VP-Enterprise Data Architecture Michael Connor followed. Businesses need a more nuanced way to account for the value of different data assets, he commented. Connor also clarified to us that only The Financial Acounting Standards Board can declare a comany's data has value in their financial statements. The evening's third speaker, Nielsen NA President & CEO John Lewis, pressed organizations "to understand information is a competency" demanding the right people, processes and outcomes. Lewis declared Big Data is not being overhyped. And he asserted companies are mistakenly "falling in love with their own data" and failing to incorporate external sources. For most of the 21st century, businesses have fumbled around with filling needs for adequate data science skills. It's not their fault; Gartner estimates only one-third of global demand for this expertise is available/hirable. Some companies, desperate for this capability, have sent current employees back to school for training. InformationWeek's Ellis Booker, once again, brings us this insight, and he brings to light outsourcing (which is losing favor in some research quarters) is a viable option for analytically-hungry companies. JCPenney is making the concept work. Last week, we highlighted the Columbia Journalism Review report about the Congress' hypocrisy in not including key political presidential election data companies in its data co. regulation investigation. The FTC, on Tuesday, revealed its own data broker investigation. Guess what? The four companies not part of Congress' review are seemingly also not going to be scrutinized the FTC. The Associated Press says social media data are extraordinarily impacting retailers this Christmas. After polling customers on its website, Macy's is carrying branded denim jeans in bright neon colors. Wal-Mart has been asking customers to vote on toys that should be discounted on the next Toyland Tuesday. And customer imput to outdoor retailer Gander Mountain is determining the discount (anywhere form 10 to 50%) on products based on its level of customer interest. That's your Research Business DAILY Report, sponsored by Mobile Posse. This is our final RBDR for 2012. Thank you all for your viewership during our inaugural year, have a safe and fabulous holiday and we will see you January 2.