How Data Informs Business

Data inequalities, as noted, increasingly dominate in global economies, but they need not be permanent. Available policy options, discussed further in chapter 6, include the following:

• Developing data infrastructure, though competitive market entry

• Closing the data talent gap

• Anticipating disruption, which may require, for instance, more frequent policy reviews and allowing new experimental approaches to flourish without pre-emptive regulation

• Anticipating disruption, which may require, for instance, more frequent policy reviews and allowing new experimental approaches to flourish without pre-emptive regulation

• Promoting data innovation and entrepreneurship

Develop data infrastructure

Recognition is growing within many governments that in the digital economy, as an infrastructure asset, data is on par with more traditional infrastructure like transport and public utilities. Indeed, stock exchanges place a much higher value on control of a customer's data than control of infrastructure (see chapter 1). Recent interest has

therefore been in crafting policy that recognizes data as an infrastructure asset. These government policies typically focus on management of the data assets (collection, access, reuse, sharing, preservation, security) and data governance (ownership, funding), though some also address storage (data localization, data center management). The same principles apply to private sector firms gearing up to develop data assets. In addition, governments need to facilitate the development of physical infrastructure to manage data from nontraditional sources that the current telecom infrastructure is not designed to support (IoT, for instance, or call data records).

Close the data talent gap

The shortage of data skills may be the most serious systemic factor holding back data-based innovation and productivity in several countries. Research suggests that 90 percent of jobs within developed economies already require a mea sure of digital and data skills, while less than one-third of the population possesses adequate skills. This is a gap that governments must close quickly. A few good practice examples include the Skills Plus program in Norway; the Tech Partnership (a network of employers focused on developing digital skills) and Doteveryone (an independent think tank focused on the digital society) in the United Kingdom; the Intel-backed "She Will Connect" initiative in Nigeria and Kenya; and the e-schools program in Estonia.

Count on disruption

The current wave of digital disruption has produced many winners that dominate the economic landscape (described by The Economist as "Big, Anti-competitive, Addictive and Damaging to Democracy" or BAADD). The disruptors may soon become the disrupted, however, especially as even newer types of data sources emerge and firms with next-wave data skills develop new products and services. Other threats include the disruption of the current advertising-based models, which may suffer if more restrictive data policies become the norm and data ownership is relitigated in different societies. Others have theorized that decentralized technologies like blockchain might ultimately be the death knell for firms like Google or Facebook. None of this is inevitable and it would be foolish to count the incumbents out, but the age of disruption is not over.