Turning business data into valuable products for your organisation or commercial customers

Data as a Product can serve two organisational objectives:

• Use business data internally to support analysis, decision-making and growth
• Create commercial data products that can be sold or licensed to customers or other organisations

Businesses create information through their everyday operations, transactions, customers, products and services. Some of that information may have value beyond the purpose for which it was originally collected.

WiseWhale investigates whether that information could support an internal or commercial data product. We establish who would use it, what they need from it, what information is required and whether the available data can support the product.

We then define the product requirements, governance, delivery approach and, where relevant, the commercial model and route to implementation.

The result might be a benchmark, report, dashboard, decision-support tool, subscription, licensed dataset, API or another product built around the information.

Is there a viable data product?

You may already have a data product in mind, have identified information that could have commercial value or want to understand whether your business could use its existing data differently.

We investigate what the data could be used for, who would use it, whether the information can support that use and what would be required to turn it into a viable product.

The questions might include:

• Could information generated by our business support a commercial product?
• Would commercial customers pay for the benchmarks or analysis we can produce?
• Could our operational data provide better decision support across the business?
• Do we have enough reliable information to create the product we have in mind?
• What would we need to change before our data could support a commercial product?
• Should this become a report, dashboard, subscription, dataset, API or something else?

Who needs the data and what will they use it for?

A large or unusual dataset does not automatically create a valuable product. Its value depends on what somebody can use the information to understand, decide or do.

For a commercial product, we establish who would buy it, what they would use it for and why the information is valuable to them. We also consider why they would obtain it from your organisation and what alternatives are already available.

For an internal product, we establish who needs the information, which decisions or activities it needs to support and how it will be used within the business.

These requirements define what the product needs to provide and how people need to access and use it.

Do you have the data the product needs?

We examine the information the organisation already holds and whether it can support the proposed product. Where it cannot, we establish what needs to change or what additional information needs to be collected.

This can include:

• What information is collected and where it comes from
• Ownership, permissions, consent and restrictions on how the data can be used
• Quality, completeness and structure
• How consistently it is captured
• History and level of detail available
• How frequently it changes
• Gaps, limitations and dependencies
• How information from different sources can be combined
• What additional information may need to be collected

What does the user need?

The product needs to turn the underlying data into something useful for the people who will use or buy it. That might be access to data itself, or a benchmark, index, analysis, forecast, comparison, decision-support tool or another repeatable output.

We define what the product provides, how the information is derived, how frequently it needs to be produced or updated and what the user needs to be able to do with it.

For an internal product, this might provide trusted measures across teams, combine information for planning or support recurring decisions. For a commercial product, we establish what the customer is buying and what makes that output valuable enough to pay for.

How will the data product make money?

For a commercial data product, we establish how it will generate revenue and what it will cost to produce and deliver.

This includes the pricing and revenue model, how frequently customers will buy or access the product, the level of analysis or service included and how it will be sold, licensed or subscribed to.

The model might include one-off reports, recurring publications, subscriptions, benchmarking services, licensed datasets, dashboards, API access or a combination of these.

We also assess the cost and operational requirements of delivering it, including data processing, production, updating, technology, customer access, support and ongoing maintenance.

How will the data product work inside the business?

For an internal data product, we define how it will be produced, maintained and used as part of the business.

This includes who owns the product, who uses it, who is responsible for the underlying information, how frequently it needs to be updated and how the data will be checked and validated.

We also define how users will access the product, how changes to requirements will be managed and what happens when information is missing, late or unreliable.

The result is a repeatable product with defined ownership, processes and responsibilities that can continue to provide reliable information as the business develops.

Can you use the data this way?

Before developing the product, we establish what permissions, controls and governance apply to the proposed use of the data.

This includes data ownership, privacy, consent, contractual restrictions, confidentiality and regulatory requirements, as well as how the information is collected, stored, accessed, shared, aggregated or anonymised.

We also identify who should have access to the product, what controls are required and any potential unintended uses, reputational risks or commercial consequences.

Legal, regulatory and specialist data-protection advice is obtained from the appropriate specialists where required. WiseWhale identifies the questions that need answering and incorporates the specialist requirements into the product design and implementation.

How will people access and use the data product?

We define how users or customers will access the product and how the information will be delivered, updated and maintained.

Depending on the requirements, this might be a report, benchmark, interactive dashboard, downloadable dataset, subscription service, internal decision-support tool, licensed data feed or API.

We assess the volume and complexity of the data, update frequency, number and type of users, access and security requirements, integrations and the level of interaction the product needs to provide.

From this, we define the technology, infrastructure and operational requirements needed to deliver and maintain the product.

Test whether people will actually use or buy it

Before committing to a significant technical build, we can test the important assumptions with a simpler version of the product.

A commercial benchmark might begin as a manually produced report for a small group of prospective customers. An internal decision-support product might be tested with one team before being developed for wider use.

We use the test to establish whether people understand the product, use it, trust the information and find it valuable enough to continue using or paying for.

The results are used to refine the product requirements, operating model, delivery method, technology and, for commercial products, pricing and revenue assumptions.

Is the data product worth developing?

We assess the evidence gathered throughout the investigation to determine whether the product is viable and whether the likely value justifies the cost and complexity of developing and operating it.

The evidence may support proceeding with the product, changing the proposed approach, gathering further evidence or addressing gaps in the underlying data before development begins.

It may also show that the data creates greater value in its existing use, that an internal product offers a stronger opportunity than a commercial one, or that the product is unlikely to provide sufficient value to justify the investment.

We document the recommendation, supporting evidence, remaining uncertainties and the actions required before development can proceed.

Build and implement the data product

Once the decision is made to proceed, we turn the agreed product into the requirements and implementation plan needed to build, deliver and operate it. WiseWhale can coordinate implementation across internal teams, suppliers and technical specialists, manage dependencies and use user acceptance testing (UAT) to confirm that the delivered product meets the agreed requirements.

Specialist technical, legal or regulatory work is identified as part of the implementation plan and scoped separately. Depending on the product, this can include:

• Product and user requirements
• Information and data requirements
• Governance and control requirements
• Commercial and pricing requirements
• Production and maintenance processes
• System and integration requirements
• Delivery and access requirements
• Roles and responsibilities
• Implementation dependencies
• Testing and acceptance requirements
• Measures for assessing product performance

What you will have at the end

The outcome depends on what the investigation establishes and how far the product progresses during the engagement.

Depending on the scope, you will have a defined internal or commercial data product, the evidence supporting the recommendation, documented requirements and a clear route to implementation.

If further work is needed before development, we identify what needs to be tested, changed or resolved. If the evidence does not justify developing the product, we document why and what would need to change for the opportunity to be reconsidered.

Talk to us about your data

Tell us about the data your organisation collects, how you want to use it or the data product you are considering. We will establish what needs to be investigated and the appropriate scope for the work. You can email basil@wisewhale.co.uk or book a call.

Data as a Product → Learn more about data monetisation