🗿 The dichotomy of underused and misused data

GM. Living in August. Dreaming about our September Disco in Seoul. Sign up for our cocktail party if you haven’t. In the meantime, we’re talking blockchain and dark data.

Without Further Ado. ☕ *knuckle cracks* ☕ Let’s get into it.

The dichotomy of underused and misused data:

Consumers feel like their data is being misused. Companies feel like their data is underused for analytics.

1. As many as 60% of consumers believe their data is misused, according to a recent study by PrivacyEngine.

2. Meanwhile, up to 70 or 80 percent of enterprise data goes unused, according to enterprise data infrastructure provider NetApp. Some say it’s even as high as 90%.

90%???? How is that possible? It’s a waste of energy. A missed financial opportunity for businesses. And it harms productivity too.

The amount of data generated and collected by businesses has grown exponentially in recent years. That makes it extra challenging to process and utilize all of it effectively.

And if you’ve ever been to Europe, you know how challenging data privacy can be for businesses and consumers.

This looming challenge of unused enterprise data is often referred to as "dark data". I believe blockchain and AI can together solve this problem.

9 ways enterprises can leverage blockchain to solve for unused data:

1. Immutable Records allow for data integrity and reliability for future use.

2. Blockchain has clear audit trails, making it easy to track the origin and modifications of data. Crucial for validating the authenticity of enterprise data.

3. Decentralized data management reduces the risk of data loss.

4. Interoperability … seamless data sharing across different systems and organizations, breaking down data silos and enabling better data utilization.

5. Secure data where only authorized parties can access or modify it – protects sensitive enterprise data from breaches.

6. Blockchains automate and enforce data usage policies via smart contracts. That means compliance and less manual intervention.

7. There is a massive (and growing) opportunity for the tokenization of data assets, enabling enterprises to monetize their unused data by selling or licensing it.

8. Data marketplaces are places where enterprises can trade data securely with fair compensation and adherence to data usage agreements.

9. Blockchain enables enhanced permissions with granular control over data access.

There is clearly ripe opportunity here. But to effectively leverage blockchain for managing and utilizing enterprise data, enterprises have to actually understand which data sets are being underutilized and what areas of their business could potentially benefit from enhanced management and accessibility.

Healthcare, supply chain, and finance are three leading industries already developing enterprise systems around blockchain.

Personally, I think more consumer brands are going to find value in launching large-scale blockchain systems to drive richer customer data alongside new technology initiatives in emerging fields like gaming and AI.

At its best, these initiatives can both improve customer experience and maintain customer data privacy at the same time.

Ultimately, we should be turning unused data into a valuable asset that drives insights, innovation, and customer protection. Who will lead the charge in consumer engagement and the “future of commerce” remains to be seen.

Next week, I want to highlight some projects building in on-chain enterprise data. And we’re working on some relevant initiatives at Supernova around this area. If you’re in this space, reach out!

What We’re Reading

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• Tether to Double Staff by Mid-2025 in Compliance, Finance Push

• Cryptocurrencies resume their rebound, bitcoin tops $60,000

• Ripple hails major win against the SEC—but looming appeal means celebration may be premature

• Super Micro Computer CEO Wants AI Data Centers To Go Green

• Elon Musk’s X suspends data collection for AI training, EU watchdog says

• OpenAI warns people might become emotionally reliant on its ChatGPT voice mode

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