A decade ago physical premises, machinery and equipment formed the biggest percentage of most companies’ net worth. Today the picture is different. Not because the value of these items has gone down. New value drivers have come up. Technological advancements have brought in new elements that are now key contributor to the business’ bottom-line. Companies are doing all they can to acquire and protect their assets
Data and intellectual properties are among the most highly valued assets. Intellectual properties(IP) are patents, trademark, trade secrets and copyright. Patents are exclusive protection of inventions for a specific period of time. Patents cover process, design or even plant or machinery. Trademarks protect brand identifiers, these include phrases, words, signs and symbols or even designs. Trade secrets are the process, formulas, devices and mechanism that give a competitive advantage to a business. Copyrights, on the other hand, protect works of art. These are authored pieces that could be; computer software, music, drawings, graphic works, architectural works, dramatic works, sculptural among many others.
Data, on the other hand, forms the going concern of the business. The richness and sensitivity of the data is so high that in many instances out values intellectual properties. This is because once IPs are protected there are legal frameworks of enforcement. For data, the framework is not as solid and can only be pegged on other legal setups. If data fall in the hands of a competitor, the legal repercussions are mostly on the process of acquisition, not having the data.
With the coming into place of General Data Protection Regulation, a lot of changes in the business world have happened. This is because it gives guidelines on what the data organizations collect can be used for. With an economy where most organizations collect customer data, the value of that data is as important as its actual existence. It is this reason that companies have employed different methods to mine the data. When you look at Facebook with the FaceApp you can clearly see the loopholes.
Google purchase of Fitbit becomes one of the biggest data acquisition takeovers. It looks like a business deal on the surface but the underlying factors paint a different picture. Google as already has so much data about me. Just the other day google maps asked me whether Ruaraka is Home. That level of artificial intelligence is so high that it is worrying. The truth of the matter is that there is so much that goes under the carpet with google ads which are based on our patterns and behaviours. With the millions of data points from the over 28 million active Fitbit users, Ads which Google vows not to use the data for is just a tip of a whole lake of ice.
There has been a significant number of data breaches at Google in the last few years. These leaks could cause irreparable damage to the 28 million of us. My sleeping, diet and exercise patterns, are very crucial to many health firms. These data points alone even without my identifier information could be extrapolated and used for anything outside keeping me healthy and revitalized.
There is always an advantage of having crucial information dispersed or not held in a central system. This is because a single entry could mean a loss too great to bear. Breaches can either be accidental or incidental. Both ways they are harmful for too sensitive data like Fitbit holds. Our own telco’s breach of all individuals who have taken a shot at betting months ago was too costly. No one knows to what extent that data was traded and how many copies of it actually exists.
When you look at it that way, the amount of data to be held by the biggest ads company in the world will be more that dangerous. Technology advancement may change to which even the current terms of use and General Data Protection Regulations will not do anything to protect our information