Gill Tomlinson: Data Monetization is the ‘Next Big Leap’ for Three UK

Gillian Tomlinson, Director of Data and Analytics at Three UK,
outlines how the telco is partnering with its holding company on
futuristic data monetization projects that will harness the power
of 5G


Public attitudes towards the UK’s 5G rollout may be mixed. But
for data and analytics leaders at British telecoms companies, the
technology represents an opportunity to explore new data
monetization opportunities.


As Three UK Director of Data and Analytics Gillian Tomlinson
explains in this week’s Business of Data podcast, this is
something Three built into its digital transformation plans years
ago.


“[We decided] we had to move our network and our IT stack into
the cloud as soon as possible,” she recalls. “We [needed] the
processing power in the future. [We] needed to be able to support
all that 5G brings. That was really the spur for us.”


In recent years, the company has partnered with cloud providers
to ensure its data infrastructure would meet its changing needs
as it scaled its ambitions and integrated analytics capabilities.


“The ultimate goal is, you’ve got to compete,” she says. “You’ve
got to understand how you’re going to compete in future and how
the nature of the industry’s competition is going to change
because of digitization.”


Tomlinson argues that success in today’s business landscape
requires perpetual digital transformation. Companies must
constantly innovate to keep step with their competitors, who are
also perpetually innovating.


“There’s no such thing as an end-goal anymore,” she notes.
“You’ve got to be constantly improving, testing, proving, scaling
up [and] looking for how you’re going to make that next big
leap.”


Three UK’s Data Monetization Plans


Enterprises that are sitting on valuable troves of proprietary
data are increasingly exploring data monetization opportunities.


While the regulatory protections in place to protect consumer
privacy when sharing sensitive information are a challenge, these
projects are seen as a logical ‘next step’ for those looking to
drive revenue with data.


For Three UK, this means partnering with CK Delta, a holding
company within CK Hutchison Group, to provide data support on
experimental monetization projects and initiatives.


“We’re incredibly mindful of anonymized customer information
being absolutely critical and the compliance requirements around
GDPR,” she says. “But the information we sit on, specifically
from a network perspective, is incredibly valuable.”


“Our ability to understand, let’s say, people’s movements and
provide that in an anonymized way to the City of London is a
valuable insight,” she continues. “It’s got a real monetary value
attached to it.”


She adds: “More recently, we have also looked at a
proof-of-concept that we’ve been working with around flying
taxis.”


This kind of innovation may be out of reach for enterprises that
are still laying the foundations for advanced analytics. But the
promise of data monetization is a tantalising one we expect to
see more and more companies exploring in future.





Key Takeaways


Enterprises are eyeing data monetization opportunities. Using
data to create valuable new products is a logical next step for
advanced data-using companies.


Data monetization depends on proprietary data. Companies that can
curate their own unique and valuable datasets will be best
positioned to succeed with data monetization.


Enterprises will struggle without the right ‘data foundations’.
Data leaders should ensure their organizations have the right
level of data maturity before pursuing these projects.