Data monetization insights and opinions

Data monetization opportunity: Parking data

24 April 2025, Michael Hejtmanek, Head of Data Consulting at Neudata. First posted on Linkedin.

This is something I see all the time. Every week, I meet companies that quietly collect operational data. Data that is insanely valuable. And they do absolutely NOTHING with it.

Here’s a simple example:

A parking lot operator counts cars.

1. That simple car count reveals how well a shopping mall is performing.

2. It tells retailers exactly where they should open their next store.

3. It gives investors a real-time signal on consumer spending trends.

ONE simple dataset. MULTIPLE valuable insights.

Now scale that logic. Imagine a SaaS provider embedded in 100+ Fortune 1000 companies, managing procurement, shipping, hiring, or real estate. They’re sitting on tons of behavioural signals - the kind of data investors, strategists and even competitors would eagerly pay for.

Some of the most valuable datasets I’ve seen don’t come from ‘data companies’. They come from operational software businesses that realized the hidden power of their exhaust data and had the courage to think differently about it.

If you're quietly wondering "Could we do something with our data?" you’re asking exactly the right question.

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Data monetization gone wrong: A cautionary tale from the GM lawsuit

4 April 2025, Michael Hejtmanek, Head of Data Consulting at Neudata. First posted on Linkedin.

A year ago, when things first kicked off, I set myself a reminder to revisit the class action lawsuit against General Motors, which accused the company of sharing drivers' location and driving data WITHOUT CONSENT. Drivers were, understandably, pretty unhappy when their insurance rates spiked as a result.

This was a prototypical instance of a corporation failing to provide transparent disclosures about its handling of consumer data.

Fast-forward to January this year: GM reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. Under the terms, GM agreed to a five-year ban on disclosing sensitive geolocation and driver behaviour data to consumer reporting agencies. GM had already discontinued its Smart Driver program and ended relationships with its data brokers in an effort to address concerns.

This lawsuit underscores one of my core principles: transparency is NOT OPTIONAL - it's foundational. Clear communication, explicit terms of service, and being upfront with customers about exactly what data you're collecting and sharing isn't just a compliance issue; it's critical for maintaining customer trust. The GM case shows clearly that if you don’t "say what you do and do what you say," problems inevitably follow.

There’s another lawsuit I am keeping an eye on, filed around the same time against Kia. Notably, Kia's terms of service were clearer. Perhaps that explains why that lawsuit only exists in Pennsylvania and has not had any updates since its initial filing. I’ll continue to monitor this and keep you updated.

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My key takeaway? If you’re considering selling customer data, honesty and transparency aren’t just good ethics - they’re essential business strategies.

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Someone is already selling your data. ...this is how you get paid

31 March 2025, Michael Hejtmanek, Head of Data Consulting at Neudata. First posted on Linkedin.

I remember a few years ago, a major global electronics distributor was getting web scraped daily. Every distribution center worldwide hit like clockwork. Hedge funds were using this data to drive critical investment decisions. Yet, the company being scraped had NO IDEA they were sitting on a valuable product.

They still don’t.

Your website is being scraped? Congratulations - you’ve got a business. … only someone else is getting paid for it.

Every week, I hear about companies spending a fortune trying to stop web scrapers. CAPTCHAs. Bot blockers. Rate limits. It’s a never-ending arms race. And spoiler alert: the scrapers always win…and the law, in many cases, is on their side.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: If someone is scraping your site, it means your data is valuable.

Valuable enough that someone else is willing to build infrastructure, take risks and resell your hard-earned content back into the market - often for five or six figures per customer.

What that distributor should have done - what any company with high-value web content should do - is simple:

Value it. Package it. Sell it directly.

Do this, and the scrapers disappear. Why? Because you’ve made them irrelevant. Buyers will pay a premium for data directly from the official source - data that’s reliable, compliant and delivered in a usable format.

So if your site is being scraped, or you suspect you're sitting on valuable data, don’t fight it. Monetize it…you may even end up selling it to the scrapers resulting in a win-win (no more pesky SCRAPERS costing you time and resources. And the scrapers get a nice clean dataset. Sure it costs them margin, but it may be worth it.)

There’s a safe, legal and profitable path forward. You just need to know where to start.

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Sensitive data sells best (or does it?)

25 March 2025, Michael Hejtmanek, Head of Data Consulting at Neudata. First posted on Linkedin.

The biggest myth in data sales? That only your most granular data has value. Most businesses assume that data monetization means selling the most detailed, precise - and often sensitive - information possible.

🚷 They're wrong! There's an unfounded belief that hedge funds and other data buyers ONLY want the cleanest, most detailed data they can get. Sure, some companies might initially request detailed datasets.

But here's the truth: the market is also hungry for aggregated insights and signals - not just the raw material.

Some of the most successful data businesses, like Meltwater, Nielsen, Capital IQ, SimilarWeb or FactSet, are cashing in on aggregated, obfuscated or high-level insights - without selling a single row of customer data. Those who’ve followed me for a while know that I like to highlight how ADP utilizes its exhaust data. Of course, they’re not the only ones, but they do it so well: Every month, they sell carefully curated employment figures. They don’t need to provide a line-by-line account of every employee who gets processed in the ADP system, but rather broad sector and geographical summaries tell the analyst all they need to know.

And then consider the marketing exposure they get when the media quotes their numbers each month!

This data consistently moves markets and delivers substantial value.

So, why don't more companies follow suit?  

*** Because they think aggregated data won’t be ‘valuable enough’. ***

Here’s the reality: Successful data monetization isn't about exposing sensitive details or your internal protected trade secrets. *

** It's about PACKAGING your DATA INTELLIGENTLY. ***

In some cases, less detail is safer - and smarter. Sharing highly granular data can increase the risk of de-anonymization, especially if elements of the dataset can be reverse-engineered to reveal identities (as we've seen in cases like DTCC). But when data is intentionally transformed - through proper anonymization or by creating derivative data products - those risks drop dramatically. In fact, buyers sometimes prefer these ‘less raw’ data products as they are looking for insights, rather than regulatory/legal exposure.

BOTTOM LINE: The smart move is knowing exactly how much detail your data buyers genuinely need.

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Why sell data?

13 March 2025, Michael Hejmanek, Head of Data Consulting at Neudata; and Solomon Kahn, CEO at Delivery Layer. Full article here.

Should you be selling your data? Monetizing data sounds like an obvious win—but is it really? 🤔

In their first strategic guide, Neudata's Michael Hejtmanek and Solomon Kahn from Delivery Layer break down the market opportunity, benefits and risks of selling data. Here are the key takeaways:

• High-margin, low-churn business
  • Data-as-a-service (DaaS) mirrors SaaS—high gross margins and embedded value make for sticky revenue streams
  • Once data is built into customer workflows, it’s hard to replace
• Justify your data team’s value
  • Many CDOs struggle to quantify ROI—selling data can quickly cover your data team’s cost
  • Even a 3–5% revenue boost from data sales can make a strong business case
• Market opportunity is real but nuanced
  • Hedge funds & financial firms want raw data to power investment models
  • Corporates need actionable insights and packaged dashboards
  • Demand is growing but market validation is key—don't assume your data is unique or in demand
• Strategic benefits beyond revenue
  • Selling data builds brand credibility and market influence
  • Example: ADP payroll data is a go-to economic indicator—reinforcing ADP’s authority

🚨 But beware the risks...

• Business risks: overestimating demand, competitive pressures and a tough sales cycle
• Legal risks: privacy laws, data rights and regulatory hurdles—compliance is critical

Is selling data the right move for your company? The only way to know is to get into the market and validate demand. Read the full guide by Michael Hejtmanek & Solomon Kahn to dive deeper: https://www.neudata.co/blog/why-and-how-to-sell-data-successfully

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What is data monetization?

6 March 2025, Henry Scherman, Data monetization consultant at Neudata.

⁉️ What exactly is data monetization? In our latest Neudata Explores video, monetization consultant Henry Scherman breaks down what it really means and how it can unlock value for your business.

"A lot of businesses come to us and ask what data monetization could really do for them. Ultimately, monetization of data is just finding measurable value out of data for the company. And there's two ways to think about it. Internal data monetization and external data monetization.

Internal data monetization is about improving your sales initiatives. It's improving your marketing by measuring progress. That's not what Neudata does. Neudata helps with external data monetization.

External data monetization is finding value for a third party in the data your business collects by nature of operating. Think about it in a retail store context, for example. The data that's collected as a byproduct of just selling goods can be useful for partners and suppliers to track their competitive positioning. It can also be useful for third parties like investors, to track economic activity and consumer behaviour.

Neudata speaks to data buyers all the time and can help identify where that value lies, and build an external monetization program."

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Compliance isn't your problem. Fear is.

6 March 2025, Michael Hejtmanek, Head of Data Consulting at Neudata. First posted on Linkedin.

Most data leaders say compliance is the biggest hurdle to selling data externally. I disagree. The real issue? Fear. 🔥

• Fear of reputational damage
• Fear of upsetting customers
• Fear of losing access to critical business partnerships
• Fear of trade secrets leaking
• Fear of lawsuitsCompliance is just the scapegoat.

👎 Take General Motors OnStar - they sold customer driving data to LexisNexis without explicit consent. When customers saw their insurance rates skyrocket, the backlash was brutal.

Was compliance the issue?

No.

It was their failure to be transparent.

👍 On the flip side, look at ADP - they sell anonymized payroll data every month to media outlets and investors, making money while staying fully compliant. Their clients trust them because ADP controls the narrative. They don’t run from the conversation - they lead it. 💡

🤷 Here’s the irony: Even companies that clear compliance hurdles still hesitate.

I worked with a shipping optimization company that wanted to monetize data from its relationships with FedEx, UPS and DHL. We went through every compliance checkpoint - everything was legally solid. But at the last minute, they froze.

Why?

Fear.

They worried that if they moved forward, their business partners might cut them off. That hesitation had nothing to do with compliance - it was about the uncertainty of navigating reputational risk.

So here’s the real question: Is compliance stopping you from monetizing your data?

Or are you just afraid to have the conversation?

🫰Data monetization isn’t about selling secrets. It’s about knowing how to package, protect and position your data so that it works FOR you, not against you.

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Data sellers: New export compliance rules ahead

19 February 2025, Jessica Gebert, Data Strategy Consultant at Neudata. First posted on Linkedin

If you're a data provider, it’s crucial to be aware of the latest regulatory changes that could impact your business. Executive Order 14117, set to be enforced this April, restricts the export of sensitive US data to countries of concern.

This rule is set to reshape the export landscape for sensitive US data, and it’s vital to understand its implications now. Neudata's Jessica J. Li Gebert explains

• Scope of restrictions: The order targets the export of sensitive US data—including PII, genomic, biometric, financial, health, and precise geolocation data—to high‐risk countries such as Russia and China.
• Compliance hurdles: Data providers must ensure that neither they nor their customers inadvertently transfer such data to these entities.
• Contractual updates: Organisations should review and if necessary update data licensing agreements with flow‐down clauses, and investment agreements must include safeguards preventing Russian or Chinese investors from using American assets to access sensitive data.
• Urgent deadline: All changes must be implemented by 8 April.