A century ago, the most valuable resource for whose custodial rights companies were ready to slug it out was oil. But today that resource is data, prioritized by IT giants such as Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook. In a single recent quarter alone, these big five racked up profits to the tune of US$25 billion. Facebook and Google alone account for half the revenue growth in digital marketing the previous year in North America. Proposals have been made to cut them up like Standard Oil was about a century back. This in spite of most services being free and the constant competition experienced from newer entrants such as Snapchat. The one thing giving these titans unimaginable power is their hold over data warehousing. The business world is now operating within a data economy. Even traditional giants such as Siemens and GE have turned themselves into data firms. These tech giants have leveraged the network effects. Some steps are being taken up by proactive governments in Europe and India to stem the tide, meaning these firms will now need to share more of their data.

Source:https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21721656-data-economy-demands-new-approach-antitrust-rules-worlds-most-valuable-resource

Uploaded Date:28 July 2018