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Data and Global Business
Data and Global Business
Learning Objectives
One may want to argue whether data is the byproduct of the digital technology revolution or if data is the raw material enabling digital transformation. More accurately, the digital transformation we experience is the result of a close feedback loop where data enables the technology and, in the process, generates new data that is mined for value in a new cycle of digital transformation. Companies such as Amazon, Google, Alibaba, Niantic, Facebook and Apple have indeed generated significant value because of their ability to harness and harvest this dynamic. In a number of cases, the use of data by these companies have disrupted entire industries.
McKinsey Global Institute – Report: The age of analytics: Competing in a data-driven world. 2016
This digital transformation by data is not only at play at the microeconomic level, but also at the macroeconomic level, and indeed on the scale of global trade. During the time since the end of the second world war, the emergence of the Bretton Woods institutions and trade liberalization started by the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), we witnessed a dramatic growth in the trade of goods. The arrival of the Internet brought a dramatic growth in international trade in services and information and we currently see a dramatic growth of data crossing borders and driving business decisions in a global world.
The growth in data created a high demand for analytical talent that can transform the raw data into new value. The contemporary data scientists and data engineers are fast replacing that research and development scientists and industrial engineers as prime value creators. However, the role of data in business creation is still in its infancy and offers many opportunities for innovation.
It is important though to remember that technology has been transformative in general, and this is also true for digital technology. Even in the development, production, marketing and delivery of goods we can see the continued transformative power of technology, now extending further in the context of data.
TED Talks – Arindam Bhattacharya of BCG argues globalization is evolving, traditionally measured in goods traded but now measured in cross-border data flow.
A TED element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://oer.gsu.edu/globalbusiness/?p=67