COMMENT: In the time that it takes to read this sentence, around 30,000GB of new data has been created in the world. To put that in perspective, that much data will provide you with three-and-a-half years of back-to-back films from Netflix, writes Dan Hughes, founder of proptech consultancy Alpha Property Insight.
All this data will ultimately transform the way that we use buildings and do our jobs. Understanding the role that data plays in a rapidly evolving world is essential for companies to be successful.
Data has been at the heart of the property sector for many years, from addresses to costs or valuation comparables to investment indices. But now that everything seems to collect data, the volume and variety that is now available can be quite overwhelming.
Data: the new oil?
It is often said that data is the new oil. It’s not an expression I like, but if nothing else, it does show the importance that people think it will hold for the future of economies and businesses, including property.
If you look at most of the leading global companies that have grown over the past few years, the common thread is their effective use of data to support their businesses. And for property companies to be successful, we will need to do the same.
Along with the huge growth of data is a steep rise in associated technologies, regulation and buzzwords that accompany it. For a business in real estate to be successful, it must have a robust data strategy and understanding of the role that data plays to compete in the future.
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I often have conversations with people from across property at all levels who talk about the importance of data: data should be open, it is their USP, they’re not sharing theirs.
All of these are legitimate views, but are contradictory and it is essential that companies have a clear view of what their approach is in an evolving world.
To achieve this does not mean everyone needs to become a data scientist, but it is vital to have a basic understanding of what data is, what the terms mean and how this is changing. As important is the culture change to be able to adapt to the new data world.
In this regular column, I will aim to answer some of the key questions that the sector is facing around the collection and use of data: how is it going to change some of our traditional business models?
I will also define some of the terminology, highlight some of the possible pitfalls and perhaps explain why I don’t think data is the new oil.
What is data?
Let’s start with a definition of data.
Data is a pretty broad topic, it is a bit like talking about ingredients in cooking. Broadly speaking, it is a collection of numbers, shapes, expressions or points that represent facts.
This captures pretty much everything that we use in our normal business life, our company revenue numbers, the value of a building or the contact details of a customer.
Another less common phrase is metadata, which is a collection of data that refers to other data. To use the ingredients example again, who made it or what is the sell by date could be considered as metadata.
Pretty much every piece of data that you collect, and you can see how broad that is, can be used, may well be regulated and might be replicated by another source.
