Embrace data to ensure competitive advantage

The ability to analyse, interpret and use data effectively could become vital to ensure competitive advantage as well as developing public policy.

That's the verdict of a group of political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum Summit in China.

Harnessing the power of the data would be key to improving quality of life and boosting innovation, the summit participants said.

“The greatest impact of technology is that it is bringing people together,” Canada-based Jennifer Corriero, Co-Founder and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal, an online community for youth, told participants in the Summer Davos meeting.

“This greater interconnectedness is leading to the proliferation of data”, warned Nathan D. Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Global Viral Forecasting, a US company aimed at predicting pandemics: “We need to be prepared for the data deluge.”

Vivek Kundra, Fellow, Harvard University, and until recently the US Chief Information Officer, agreed: “The public sector collects a host of data, but making it public can generate jobs.”

Consider how farmers in remote areas are able to use mobile phones to find real-time prices for food and commodities. “If you look at the proliferation of technology, it hasn’t scaled up fast enough,” Kundra asserted. “It has already made a fundamental change in the lives of those people with the least resources.”

Releasing data always raises concerns, including worries about security and privacy. “With any technology or shift, there are always two faces,” Kundra observed. “You have to balance opportunity with the risks that are posed.” He concluded: “The deeper question is where the power resides. We need to make sure that the power is shifted to the individual.”

Certainly, knowing how to process, interpret and use data and information can be hugely empowering. “We are seeing industries change at a pace that we haven’t seen before,” said Harrison Dillon, President and Chief Technology Officer of US synthetic renewable fuel enterprise Solazyme. “The days of working for the same company for 30 years are over.” While people may not be able to take time off to go back to school, they can use technology to access learning opportunities and improve their skills, he added.

Individuals and companies have to get over the initial reluctance to share data, Prince told participants.

“Everyone is going to have a different level of sensitivity to the release of private information.” But those who are willing to do so could reap benefits such as cheaper credit or preferential treatment from service providers.

Corriero explained
“You may be defined as others see you by your digital data, The hope is that people will use data for good purposes rather than ill. “The use of data should not be just for profit but for bettering people,” she stressed. “It is up to people to use technology to promote fairness and justice.”

Source EGovMonitor