Data Leverage: Unlocking the Surprising Growth Potential of Data Partnerships

“We have a ton of DATA; how do we LEVERAGE it (especially for AI)?”

The data your company generates is enormously valuable. The right data partnership strategy will separate your business from the rest, especially with opportunities in AI. Without a strategic approach, you'll never unlock the full potential of your data — and risk falling behind in the competitive landscape.

Data Leverage, the first comprehensive book on the emerging necessity of corporate data partnerships, is authored by Christian Ward and James Ward. These brothers — a data entrepreneur and a data strategy lawyer — have executed hundreds of data partnerships, guiding businesses in navigating the complex world of data and AI.

This book has everything you need to make money from data, starting with the DataSmart Method™, a four-step process for building your data partnership strategy. You’ll learn:

• A comprehensive process to >identify your data assets — both the data your company generates and the data about your company that others maintain.
• A systematic way to value those assets — so you can tell whether it makes more sense to barter them for other valuable data or build them into million-dollar revenue streams.
• A complete list of deal structures for data partnerships, including how to gain partners for innovative data streams and distribute data through large platforms and channels.
• An analysis of prudent measures you can take to protect your data, with detailed descriptions of how to write contracts and comply with regulations like Europe's GDPR.

This book will open your eyes to the power of data with detailed descriptions of real deals. You’ll see how companies turned unusual data streams – like aerial photographs of retailers’ parking lots, results of customer sales calls, and even their own accounts receivable data – into valuable assets that boosted their companies’ bottom lines.

Your company is churning out data every day. Your marketing department generates ads and leads; your HR department evaluates resumes; your IT group tracks customer databases and product information. But without a strategy, it’s just a bunch of ones and zeroes. To leverage that data, you must find the right partners, make the right deals, maintain privacy controls, and build contracts that keep you safe and legal. You’ll need the detailed advice in this book as you negotiate with big platforms like Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, Dun & Bradstreet, and Amazon.

Don’t build data partnerships without a detailed map. Data Leverage is an indispensable reference for planning for and negotiating data deals. Keep it close by, and you can start building new sources of value for your company with the data you generate daily.

CHRISTIAN J. WARD is a data entrepreneur and founder of two data companies who currently serves as Chief Data Officer of Yext in New York. He has previously served as the CDO or global data partnership lead for Arizent, Infogroup, Thomson Reuters, and the Bank of New York.

JAMES J. WARD is a data privacy lawyer, consultant, and managing partner of Ward PLLC. He advises on privacy, data security, regulatory compliance, and litigation defense, and serves as data protection officer for a number of his clients.