There are conditions in our industry that are creating exciting new opportunities for data quality professionals who are prepared to innovate and reach out of their comfort zone.

The recession is actually acting as a catalyst for a new breed of data quality products that are waiting to be created by you, the data quality entrepeneur.

In this post we present a blueprint for how to transform ideas into action.

Wanted - Data Quality Entrepeneurs

The last time I looked outside the window, the sky hadn't fallen down and there were no mass riots. So has the recession passed us all by?

No, clearly not. Fuelled by a lack of compliance and common-sense, certain companies crippled the global wheels of finance and many of us are still feeling the after-shock.

In a timely post, David Loshin raises the question "Is data quality recession-proof?".

The responses were either side of the fence but my vote is in the "Yes" camp. I really do believe data quality, done correctly, can ride out any recession.

I'm not naïve. I've had a couple of projects I was earmarked to consult on canned at the last minute this year. These were attributed to the downturn. Budgets were pulled from above and the pipeline of improvement initiatives were cut. I hear your stories, the downturn is biting in many areas

However, I believe that the cost-cutting aspirations of every organisation now play in our favour.

Sell solutions, not services

What is required is a complete mindshift for many professionals who have traditionally promoted a range of data quality services.

We have lots of consultants and service professionals in our membership who fly solo or work for bigger services companies. I make it my job to check out their portfolio so I can refer them to other members on Data Quality Pro in need of specialist skills.

Many of these services are far too "business non-specific".

The problem with promoting a range of services is that it is generic and unfocused. You're forcing any potential visitor to read through your long list of achievements and figure out what it is you can do to solve their problem.

Companies need solutions, not services, and in this climate most need solutions that cut costs and give them a competitive advantage. Effective data quality can deliver these goals.

So what must you do?

Instead of services, you need to focus on delivering a product that solves a real problem in a tightly defined market.

The solution must allow you to integrate your subject matter expertise with a data quality platform, the result being a solution that can be packaged as a product in its own right.

Why bother doing all this?

Because you are going to create something that is scalable. Your services are not scalable. You can only work so many hours and charge so much before your service business reaches a growth plateau.

Cue next generation data quality technology

In the last couple of years there has been exciting progress in the data quality technology sector.

For a long time most solutions centred predictably around data dedupe, matching and data profiling. A lot of focus was on customer name and address data.

Modern products now resemble innovative solution development platforms and data quality toolbenches. They now offer a rich palette of data management functionality with which to build new product solutions.

Modern tools are business friendly and can finally operate outside the control of the IT department.

This is the data quality entrepeneurs dream.

Some companies are placing their whole solution and message on specific problem areas within either vertical or horizontal sectors.

For horizontal markets, product data mastering specialists SilverCreek jump to mind.

On the vertical side I'm thinking Telecoms OSS/BSS revenue assurance companies like Ontology.

Check out X88 Software and their Pandora data quality engine. There are countless new products just waiting to be constructed with this type of data quality engine underneath.

Look at companies like Datanomic and how they have taken their existing data quality platform and launched a Sanctions & PEP Screening business solution with it.

Look at how DataFlux have developed an accelerator for materials classification.

Observe how companies like Omikron combine data quality technology and domain expertise to provide regional solutions.

Do you see what these guys are doing? It's a standard process:

1. Identify a problem faced by a vertical, horizontal or regional market that is heavily reliant on a data quality function that their products can support
2. Innovate a solution that combines technology and subject matter expertise (often from outside their company) to create a unified application that can be branded and sold to a niche audience
3. Infiltrate a niche market with the solution, promoting through the channels that are relevant to that niche audience

Today the technology exists for data quality professionals to drop their generic bag of services and build point solutions that organisations desperately need (and are willing to pay a premium for) in any economic climate.

It doesn't matter if an organisation already has an in-house solution. If you create a solution that is faster, cheaper and requires less resource to manage then you will get the attention of potential sponsors.

What's more, there is plenty of scope for you, the seasoned data quality professional or subject matter expert, to play the entrepeneurial game.

How to play the entrepeneurial game

First you need to focus.

It obviously pays to close in on a sector in which you have deep expertise. If you have spent the last 20 years working in the banking industry it's probably not a great idea to build a solution for the telecoms market unless it is a problem that is common to all sectors.

Next, create a list of the current trends in your industry.

Good idea of trends includes:

• What are the big business application purchases that are prevalent in your sector? Don't think operating systems or databases, think billing systems, ERP solutions, asset inventory, procurement, provisioning - applications that have lots of users and vast amounts of data.
• What are the business drivers that surround these purchases? In the telecoms industry for example this means reducing staffing costs through greater automation, cutting capital expenditure through stranded asset discovery, increasing revenue per customer, sweating the assets etc.

Next, look objectively at your own skills:

• What are the data quality skills you have at your disposal?
• What are your other areas of business or technical ability?
• What are you not particularly adept at and would require assistance?
• Which sectors do you have good contacts with?

Look for external input:

• Who in your immediate network would you class as a true expert in a similar domain and could form an alliance?
• Are there people in your network on the business side who would be willing to brainstorm issues in their sector?
• What are the forums or magazines in this sector? What issues are they discussing?
• Check out the data quality vendor websites and search under customers in your sector - what was the criteria for purchase? What are these tools being used for?
• What technology vendors fit your model? Which one has capabilities that can be merged into a complete proposition?

From this you should be able to create:

• A shortlist of niche vertical or horizontal focus markets
• List of problems that are common to these markets and would benefit from a solution that combines an element of data quality functionality and your subject matter expertise
• A shortlist of data quality vendors to discuss a joint venture or license agreement
• A set of warm contacts who would be willing to discuss your proposed solution

Connect the dots

Start with your contacts. Dig deeper into the problem areas. Is there revenue opportunity there? What does the competition look like? What do they charge? Can you go faster, cheaper and easier than them? What is the financial and strategic impact if companies don't solve these problems?

Concentrate on one problem you are capable of solving. Reduce your problem shortlist. Focus on one problem that has:

• Strong revenue opportunity
• Recurring frequency in a tight niche market that you are extremely comfortable in
• The ability to be solved with data quality technology and your subject matter expertise

Build the concept first. Don't over-engineer a vast set of features. Focus on the core problem that your solution will solve.

Prototype your solution. Build out the components conceptually. Understand how the data quality components will integrate with other elements required of the product. Will it need a new user interface? What skill level will be required to run it? Focus on solutions that are low-impact and require little training and IT dependency.
 

Engage a data quality technology vendor

Thoroughly review the data quality technology market.

Pay attention to which vendors are innovating and creating market focused offerings. Shortlist the vendors that have technology that can form the core of your product. Approach them and present your opportunity. Be crystal clear about the business model and opportunity. Show your research. Find a company that shares your passion for innovation and strike a licensing deal.
 

Build the solution

Most data quality vendors will give you a cut-down license agreement so you can build your solution. If it sells they'll be getting licensed revenue for zero effort. You can get started using this approach typically for the cost of some basic training.

Hardwire your intellectual property and expertise into the new product.

For example, if you are a revenue assurance expert and spend most of your time scouring disparate inventory systems for stranded assets look at how you can build a product around your service.

• Are there common data structures that apply to every business?
• Is there a workflow that you must follow every time?
• What applications and databases do you typically work with?
• Are there cleansing and matching activities you need to perform repetitively?
• How can you transform what you do into a dedicated product?

It is relatively straightforward with modern tools to encapsulate your intellectual property and model of working to build a new product that focuses on a particular problem.

Build a prototype and create demonstration data sets and scenarios that are typical in your industry.

Present your product to a set of receptive contacts who have experienced the problem you can solve. Gauge their feedback. What can be improved. What are the strong points. Channel this back into your marketing and product development plans.

At this stage you are looking for one customer to sign on and give you a testimonial. Be flexible to make this happen, testimonials are far more important than revenue at this stage.

Market the solution

Do not sell the proposition under your services business. Create a whole new solutions based website that only promotes one thing, the unique value that your solution can provide.

To build your online presence follow these simple rules:

• Create a blog with 20 posts/articles pre-written focusing on the problems your solution addresses, schedule your articles to be released at a regular interval
• Create videos demonstrating your product solving the problem in a timely fashion
• Create video testimonial (ideally) or standard testimonial from your first "customer" (this could be one of your earlier receptive contacts if they have used the solution)
• A great big button on the front page that invites people to trial your solution
• No links to resources or external articles, keep people focused on one call to action - arranging a trial

Engage prospects

Promote your articles in the relevant business communities on LinkedIn and other social and traditional media outposts.

Engage in conversation, create debates, get people animated around the problem you can solve. Fine-tune your marketing message around the problems these people are citing.

Approach editors in magazines and publications that your prospects read, submit your blog articles for editorial review and publication, complete with your website address.

Get your vendor partner to segment their marketing lists and trial an online webinar that discusses how you solve this problem.

Rigorously test different marketing channels and approaches, social media is free but costs you valuable time, measure and fine-tune.


Sell the product

Offer deals for initial customers on the basis of testimonials and the fact there may be minor issues until the product is fully bedded down

Get in front of the buyers and understand their drivers for purchase. Are there other parts of the business that have the same challenges your solution can solve?

You will have limited marketing and sales resources so be ruthless with your qualification of leads. Eliminate time-wasters. Focus on big companies that contain the opportunity for widespread cross-sell.


Evolve the proposition

Listen intently to the feedback of customers. Do they find it easy to use? What other business areas are interested in using it? What new functions do they want to see?

Build a scalable business

Your business will start to grow if you have a solution that solves a clear need and is marketed correctly.

Decide how you wish to evolve. A viable route is to simply gain a number of clients and then sell the business to a professional services firm or larger consultancy.

It's unlikely you will be able to sustain a market lead with just one product so start to network with other fellow professionals and discover what problems are rife in their sector.

Build a business platform that enables you to constantly innovate new data quality centred solutions.

Data volumes are growing at incredible rates and the desire for corporate information services is boundless.

Recession? There is no recession for the data quality entrepeneur.

Useful Resources

See all articles in: Running a DQ business : DQ Business Advice : Personal Development

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