Secrets to Handling All the Data You've Collected

IRVINE, CA—As more data becomes machine accessible, at low or even no cost, the CRE industry is starting to build on-demand synthetic intelligence algorithms that turn data into insights and insights into action, Ten-X Commercial's VP marketing operations Nathan Dever tells GlobeSt.com. Our ability to gather nuanced data has increased exponentially in the past several years, but making sense of it all is just as important. We sat down with Dever to chat about how to handle the data we gather, how CRE can benefit from it and what should be avoided.

GlobeSt.com: What is the best approach to handling all the data that is at our fingertips?

Dever: Data volumes are increasing at a blistering pace. All aspects of properties, participants and transactions are becoming quantified, codified and analyzed. Everything that can be tracked is or will be tracked. According to research group IDC, it is expected that by 2025, the yearly global data collection will reach 163 zettabytes—more than 10 times that collected in 2016. So, as more of this dark and disparate data becomes machine accessible, at low or even no cost, the commercial real estate industry is starting to build on-demand synthetic intelligence algorithms that turn data into insights and insights into action.

GlobeSt.com: How can CRE benefit from all of this data?

Dever: Looking more broadly, probably the most profound benefit of this “datafication” disruption will be a dramatic acceleration in the velocity of business and a steep drop in cost. There are countless historical examples of disruption where the democratization of data and commoditization of computing power completely transform how an industry operates and how companies make money—just look at what happened to the travel industry in the 1970s with the Sabre reservation terminals and again in the 1990s with Expedia.

GlobeSt.com: What pitfalls should be avoided when handling and evaluating data?

Dever: Big data, data science and technology are certainly cliché topics right now within the CRE industry, but if you dig beyond the rhetoric, many companies have barely moved beyond Excel spreadsheets. It's a big mistake to continue operating under the belief that data is of secondary importance to business and to underinvest in this area. Implementing data successfully requires a complex infrastructure that will collect and analyze data, and that infrastructure must be thoughtfully constructed and dutifully maintained. Companies that fail to create these systems may still end up collecting a lot of data, but will be unable to do much with it. Similar pitfalls can occur regarding the integrity of the data. When handling and evaluating data, one needs to be certain the information is correct and analyzed properly, which can be reinforced by corroborating with multiple sources or double and triple-checking. Data is the key currency, and if you can't trust the data you have, neither you nor your customers will be able to extract any real value from it.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this topic?

Dever: Tomorrow's industry titans will be those organizations that lay the foundation for big data and data science. They must make the fundamental shift in how they view data from structured to unstructured, from selective to ubiquitous, from retrospective to real time, from generalized to hyperpersonal and from business-enhancing to business-critical. If you don't realize data is the most important factor in business right now, you're quickly going to be left behind.

IRVINE, CA—As more data becomes machine accessible, at low or even no cost, the CRE industry is starting to build on-demand synthetic intelligence algorithms that turn data into insights and insights into action, Ten-X Commercial's VP marketing operations Nathan Dever tells GlobeSt.com. Our ability to gather nuanced data has increased exponentially in the past several years, but making sense of it all is just as important. We sat down with Dever to chat about how to handle the data we gather, how CRE can benefit from it and what should be avoided.

GlobeSt.com: What is the best approach to handling all the data that is at our fingertips?

Dever: Data volumes are increasing at a blistering pace. All aspects of properties, participants and transactions are becoming quantified, codified and analyzed. Everything that can be tracked is or will be tracked. According to research group IDC, it is expected that by 2025, the yearly global data collection will reach 163 zettabytes—more than 10 times that collected in 2016. So, as more of this dark and disparate data becomes machine accessible, at low or even no cost, the commercial real estate industry is starting to build on-demand synthetic intelligence algorithms that turn data into insights and insights into action.

GlobeSt.com: How can CRE benefit from all of this data?

Dever: Looking more broadly, probably the most profound benefit of this “datafication” disruption will be a dramatic acceleration in the velocity of business and a steep drop in cost. There are countless historical examples of disruption where the democratization of data and commoditization of computing power completely transform how an industry operates and how companies make money—just look at what happened to the travel industry in the 1970s with the Sabre reservation terminals and again in the 1990s with Expedia.

GlobeSt.com: What pitfalls should be avoided when handling and evaluating data?

Dever: Big data, data science and technology are certainly cliché topics right now within the CRE industry, but if you dig beyond the rhetoric, many companies have barely moved beyond Excel spreadsheets. It's a big mistake to continue operating under the belief that data is of secondary importance to business and to underinvest in this area. Implementing data successfully requires a complex infrastructure that will collect and analyze data, and that infrastructure must be thoughtfully constructed and dutifully maintained. Companies that fail to create these systems may still end up collecting a lot of data, but will be unable to do much with it. Similar pitfalls can occur regarding the integrity of the data. When handling and evaluating data, one needs to be certain the information is correct and analyzed properly, which can be reinforced by corroborating with multiple sources or double and triple-checking. Data is the key currency, and if you can't trust the data you have, neither you nor your customers will be able to extract any real value from it.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this topic?

Dever: Tomorrow's industry titans will be those organizations that lay the foundation for big data and data science. They must make the fundamental shift in how they view data from structured to unstructured, from selective to ubiquitous, from retrospective to real time, from generalized to hyperpersonal and from business-enhancing to business-critical. If you don't realize data is the most important factor in business right now, you're quickly going to be left behind.