What is a Data Marketplace and Why Should You Use One?

Collecting data takes time, but the more information you have at your disposal, the easier it is to plan your business’s growth strategies and identify areas of improvement. Though many businesses rely on data they collect in-house, sourcing your own information can often result in more limited data sets that make it difficult to put a full picture together. That’s where data marketplaces can help.

Let’s take a closer look at how these marketplaces work and why businesses should consider leveraging marketplaces when collecting data.

What is a Data Marketplace?

A data marketplace is essentially an online store for data where businesses and individuals alike can buy and sell information as well as exchange data to facilitate growth. These marketplaces allow those who collect data to turn a profit from the information they gather and make it easy for businesses to access data that would otherwise take weeks or months to collect on their own.

Though both marketplaces and data exchanges allow people to trade data sets, they do so in different ways. In marketplaces, individuals and businesses have the opportunity to buy, sell or trade information. The information can be purchased or traded by anyone.

On data exchanges, the system works more as an even trade between approved organizations and individuals. The data provider can determine who is eligible to receive and share data with or restrict it from certain parties as needed.

Both systems can help people access critical data to help them drive decisions, but marketplaces can be more flexible.

What Types of Information Can You Get on a Marketplace?

The information available on each marketplace can vary. However, there are a few common types of data that people typically offer for sale or exchange on most marketplaces. This includes but is not limited to the following:

• Demographic information.
• Consumer behavior.
• Social media information.
• Scientific studies.
• Public records.
• Market conditions and trends in industries.
• Sales data for specific markets.

If you’re looking for something specific, you may need to search several data marketplaces to find the information you’re looking for at a price point that works for your budget. Marketplaces like Kaggle and World Bank Data may help you round out your data sets and give you access to the information you need.

The Benefits of Using a Data Marketplace

Data marketplaces give you access to more data than you can reasonably compile on your own. But that’s far from the only benefit they can provide. Here’s how using a data marketplace can streamline your business:

• Better Collaboration: Data marketplaces foster an open-source culture of publishing and sharing data with the knowledge that more data means more productive and healthier societies.
• Opportunity to Monetize Data: You’re able to both purchase and sell data on a marketplace. This means you can make money from the data you already collect through the course of your business, thereby increasing your cashflow and diversifying your income sources.
• Improved Efficiency: Purchasing data on marketplaces can take just a few minutes compared to the months it may take to collect the data on your own. This improves efficiency and helps your team make informed decisions faster.
• Enhanced Productivity: Getting the right data from a marketplace and cleansing it against your data quality standards gives you all the information you need to begin analysis. Make sure the dataset meets your data governance protocol to ensure the dataset remains current. This means your team will spend less time formatting and interpreting the data to fit their needs and more time producing quality work.
• Easy to Integrate: Data marketplaces offer the assets you’re looking for in different formats that can seamlessly integrate with your existing data fabric. Key stakeholders will be able to access the information in a way that works for their needs.

Keep in mind that these are just a few ways that data marketplaces can improve your business and your data acquisition efforts.

How Zeenea’s Enterprise Data Marketplace Can Help Your Business

Though there are many data marketplaces that you can use to gain access to essential information, Zeenea’s new data marketplace can take the stress out of choosing a quality service that you can trust.

The data discovery platform allows you to access data in a familiar format. The interface is designed similarly to an e-commerce site, so you can pick and choose data based on your needs and queries. Even better, the system can integrate with Actian’s DataConnect service to make interpreting, organizing, and managing that newly purchased data a breeze.

Transform Your Information into a Strategic Data Asset

With data marketplaces, you’re able to access new data, transforming the information you rely on into a strategic asset that can benefit your business in multiple ways. Explore the different assets available to you and your team on Zeenea’s Enterprise Data Marketplace today.

About Actian Corporation

Actian makes data easy. We deliver cloud, hybrid, and on-premises data solutions that simplify how people connect, manage, and analyze data. We transform business by enabling customers to make confident, data-driven decisions that accelerate their organization’s growth. Our data platform integrates seamlessly, performs reliably, and delivers at industry-leading speeds.