Data Sharing in Business: Transform Your Strategy Now

Over the last several years, data has quickly become one of the most valuable assets globally. This trend is especially true for today’s enterprises, which protect nearly 80 percent of the world’s data. Consequently, they hold the keys to greater profits, increased efficiency, untapped potential, and innovation. Yet, many modern enterprises cannot realise the full potential of their data for one simple reason: they hesitate to share it.

Understanding data sharing

Data sharing is not a new practice. The exchange of data has been integral to various industries for decades. For instance, retailers share sales data insights with Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies to better understand who purchases their products. Similarly, banks and insurance companies rely on shared data to assess risk and detect fraudulent activities. Healthcare organisations utilise patient data to advance medical research and develop personalised treatments. Recently, software companies have enabled sharing datasets between different SaaS applications through cloud platforms. In essence, data sharing has always played a vital role in fostering growth and progress across diverse sectors.

Overcoming hesitation in data sharing

Despite the long-standing practice of data sharing, some businesses remain hesitant. Why is this? It often comes down to certain biases. Many companies perceive data sharing as a costly and risky process. They think it only applies to larger enterprises dealing with vast amounts of data for monetisation. Consequently, smaller companies view data-sharing practices as obligatory functions, rather than what they truly are: business goals that unlock opportunities for new value creation.

The emerging trend of data sharing

At its core, data sharing is about making data resources available to various partners while ensuring data integrity. However, traditional processes of data exchange have made achieving this objective nearly impossible. Typically, large quantities of data had to be gathered and compressed into files before being exchanged and loaded into the target platform. As a result, the risk of data corruption was high. Moreover, because it was time-intensive, data often became outdated by the time the sharing was complete.

However, the rise of cloud-based data-sharing technology has effectively reduced the risks, costs, and frustrations of traditional sharing methods. For instance, in 2017, Snowflake introduced an innovative data-sharing service. This service allows two Snowflake deployments from different organisations to securely share data at scale in real time within the same platform. Consequently, companies no longer have to deal with costly and complex inter-organisation data exchange flows.

Driving forces behind data sharing

What drives the growing trend of data sharing today? In a nutshell, data gains value when shared. According to a study by Gartner, organisations that promote data sharing will outperform their counterparts on most business value indicators by 2023. Implementing data-sharing practices enables organisations to streamline decision-making processes, improve performance, and gain a competitive edge. For example, real-time pricing, enabled through data sharing, empowers businesses to make informed pricing decisions based on accurate market insights. This ability allows companies to respond swiftly to market changes and optimise pricing strategies.

Types of businesses that benefit from data sharing

Using the right approach, businesses across nearly all industries can benefit from data sharing, both internally and externally. Any organisation with multiple departments can leverage intra-departmental data sharing to enhance communication. This practice breaks down data silos and shares relevant information across teams, leading to streamlined processes and improved operational efficiency.

From an external sharing perspective, consider the marketing and advertising industry. It relies heavily on data for audience metrics and measuring campaign effectiveness. By sharing data across various stakeholders, organisations gain deeper insights into consumer behaviour, preferences, and market trends.

The same principles can apply to various industries, including Health & Wellness, Retail, Construction, and Software. For example, Salesforce and Snowflake have partnered to create zero-copy data-sharing capabilities. This partnership helps customers securely collaborate with data in real time, reducing the risks and frustrations of traditional methods.

Key factors for successful data sharing practices

Data sharing offers invaluable benefits across the enterprise ecosystem. However, if implemented carelessly, it may do more harm than good. Therefore, for any modern data-sharing practice to be effective, consider four critical success factors:

1. Data sharing culture

Realising the benefits of data sharing begins with fostering a culture of digital trust, open data, and collaboration. Sharing data may help discourage siloed mindsets in department leaders, enabling them to leverage greater value from their data-sharing ecosystems.

2. Reinforcing relationships

Customer and supplier partnerships play a vital role in data-sharing initiatives. By reinforcing transparent relationships built on trust, companies can create an environment conducive to collaborative data sharing that benefits all parties.

3. A ready-to-use ecosystem

Utilising a ready-to-use ecosystem can expedite implementing data-sharing practices. However, a data-sharing process isn’t one-size-fits-all. Therefore, organisations should partner with trusted providers to utilise platforms offering robust data management capabilities.

4. Engaging data analysts

The true value of data sharing cannot be unlocked without skilled data analysts. These professionals analyse data with the right granularity for the company. Using shared data, data analysts can derive actionable insights that enhance decision-making.

The big picture

As we’ve seen, the practice of data sharing has been around for years, though its implementation has generally been limited. Companies often require the time, capital, and risk capacity to reap the benefits. However, rapid technological advancement has removed many barriers. Now, businesses of any industry or size can share data at scale with minimal cost.

As new marketplaces continue to grow rapidly, opportunities are opening up for companies to extract the full value of their data. Furthermore, the proliferation of data has far-reaching implications for the growing AI-led business models. These models thrive on increased access to diverse datasets, accelerating the expansion of an industry transforming how we do business.