new factories of the world – powering the next industrial revolution

I have been toying with this concept for a while…and finally decided to share it knowing fully the risk that entails as I am still toying with it. this may well be the best way for me to develop a concept I so strongly believe in that I have committed my career and many passions to it.

I would like to thank my friend mayank (@aster) for having so beautifully framed the concept as we were talking about it 5 months ago (march 30 2010 to be precise) and give him credit for coining the term – DATA FACTORY - as a consequence of our discussion.

Now for the concept.

We are witnessing the germination of a new industrial revolution powered by 'factories' of the future – data factories. The next economic renaissance will be fueled, funded and floated with the biggest asset ever known to man – data.

And I see the emergence of these new factories in almost every segment, geography and vertical. What these factories are doing (and will do) is propel the creation of business models – by disruption or innovation – that will fundamentally change the economics of capital allocation, management and returns like never before.

So how do I spot these factories and what are their defining characteristics…here is my first pass at putting that picture together.

Data factories are universally recognizable by the asset they all seek to commercialize – data. And use data as a key competitive differentiator. Their business models are all built (and juiced) around their ability to monetize data, in a variety of ways. While currently most of the commercialization opportunity has been fueled by advertising, other business models are slowly starting to emerge.

You will instantly recognize a lot of the 21^st century superstars have actually done just that. From Google, Amazon and Netflix to upstarts like Facebook, Twitter and Zynga. And Walmart, Goldman Sachs and P&G prove that it is not just web/media properties that have built successful companies fueled by data.

All these companies have made a BIG investment in and around data – the storage, management and analysis of it. And will reap the benefits for a long time to come.

In this series I will chronicle not just the evolution of this concept but also the key players driving it forward. I already have and will continue to spend time with these players and share with you what has enabled them to change the game…as well as outline the forces that shape the creation of these 'factories' and will continue to do so.

big data innovators – of grunge t’s and software

this Sunday i saw my friend wearing one of the coolest T's I have seen in a while. It had the tagline – DO IT IN PUBLIC!

Now you do not know my friend, but I do, and was quite surprised with his choice of garment. Till I looked at the back of the shirt and realized it was one from tableau software.

Now if you read my blog, you know I am a big fan of this company…simply because no other BI tool can do what they can on BIG DATA. And now having seen the company up close, met their people, seen the users and checked out their limitless production of the coolest company T's ever, I know these guys have fun with what they do. And it makes me an even bigger fan!

And as I promised Noele@ Tableau, here's my line for a shirt –

SIZE DOES (not) MATTER.

Yes, you can use it…I just get the first one that comes off the line!