Car Talk

First came machines, then came machines that talk. Up next, machines that talk to each other. Consider the automobile, which started out as a fairly simple machine, then acquired more computer components and systems, and will soon be equipped with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of sensors integrating with drivers and passengers, the environment, and other cars.

The next wave of car technology is coming just as millions of new drivers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America get their first cars, and the role and function of cars is expanding beyond a simple people mover. More and more, cars are being seen as data generators, and the data they yield can populate an ever-wider range of databases (mapping, traffic, civil services, planning, insurance, consumer trends, health, and more). Given the amount of time people spend in their cars, there is already jockeying for position among data-hungry tech companies to integrate portable handheld devices with car systems - or better yet, to build sensors, chips, antennae, and software right into the cars. Tech industry giants, including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Intel, have been making sizeable investments in car-based technologies for several years.

These companies are sensing opportunities, and rightly so. Global sales of passenger cars will top 70 million in 2014, led by China (at 18 million units, or more than double the sales in the US). Among drivers - even in lower-income countries - there is a clear interest in avoiding traffic and collisions, and optimizing the driving environment with safety, comfort, entertainment, and information. The companies behind these technologies also understand that driving somewhere is evidence of consumer habits and intent. In emerging markets, having capable and reliable broadband networks, the right business models, the ability to connect multiple device types, and tailored solutions for different demographic segments are some of the more obvious challenges. As these challenges are better understood, there will be openings for hardware and software companies, mobile operators, service providers, programmers, and many others. One day soon, you may have to squeeze your Google Roadster between an Apple iCar and an AlibabaVan on the crowded streets of Bangkok.

Analytics in a Changing Landscape

Analyzing data in emerging markets used to be fairly easy. Of course, that's because there were little or no data to analyze. But those days are pretty much over. The bleak landscape of reliable data on customers and markets in developing countries has bloomed like a flooded desert. And today, new data are being captured through government and business information systems, mobile phones, social networks, and retail transaction systems. With two-thirds of its growth expected to come from emerging markets in coming years, perhaps no other industry stands to benefit more from rigorous data analytics in emerging markets than Pharma.

The pharmaceutical industry can benefit from solid analysis at every stage of the value chain. For instance, disease tracking data support the discovery and development of new therapies. Remote data collection and diagnostic or treatment support can aid clinical investigations and help companies understand how health workers and patients manage health and disease. Improved analysis can help companies segment diverse global customers and devise localized pricing, packaging, and educational programs. Once products are in the field, data can be mined to make improvements in the supply chain, patient education, and communication or training for health workers.

If applied creatively and skillfully, data analytics could help pharmaceutical companies move past the role of pill manufacturer and toward the business of providing personalized health services. As data grow and become more accessible, the time is ripe for pharmaceutical companies to develop and apply new tools that enhance the care experience (and grow their business). This will require evaluation and prioritization of areas where data can bring the most value, and then a clear plan of action to implement the technical and analytical systems to capture, analyze, and integrate that data. With agility and a business-driven focus on quality data analytics, pharmaceutical companies will discover the value of making medicine from desert flowers. 

Big Data = New Class of Economic Asset

In a single week, a small-scale farmer in rural Kenya may use his mobile phone to pay for seeds, search for co-ops offering the best prices for sorghum, and text his expatriate brother asking for money for school fees or medicine for a sick child. This farmer’s mobile phone usage may be of interest to a sociologist or cultural anthropologist. But when combined with usage information from 27 million other mobile subscribers in Kenya, the data paint a unique, unprecedented image of public behaviors, preferences, and needs. According to IBM, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated worldwide every 24 hours. Interest in the collection and use of this so-called "big data" is gathering steam. It is new class of economic asset, like currency or gold.

Yet, there is an important difference between developed and developing countries in terms of data creation. In the developed world, data is produced by a wide variety of sources - Internet-enabled computers and mobile devices, ATMs, cash registers, GPSs, cell phones, RFID tags, and many others. In urban areas of developing countries, the variety of data sources is beginning to rival mature-market cities. However, in the remote areas of many countries, mobile phones are by far the dominant source of data. This presents a unique opportunity for private companies, governments, academic institutions, and development organizations. Data from mobile phones can be used by companies to support new product definition, market segmentation, and ongoing product and service development. Governments and NGOs can use big data to allocate resources, evaluate and improve social programs, and quickly identify (and respond to) health and environmental crises.

In a recent report for the World Economic Forum, Vital Wave Consulting showed that momentum is growing for a centralized "data commons" that will guide public and private sector efforts to gather, clean, protect, and share data. This work is being advanced by the UN, NGOs, academic institutions, and innovative organizations like Kenya’s Ushahidi and San Francisco’s Global Viral Forecasting Initiative. These groups foresee the application of big data to persistent challenges in the areas of health, public services, agriculture, financial services for the poor, and disaster relief. To be sure, there are obstacles to overcome - privacy and security, data quality, incentivizing private companies to share data, and a dearth of data mining and analysis expertise. But the singular importance of mobile phone-generated data throughout the developing world presents a clearer path to data gathering and usage. And the potential benefits to sharing and aggregating data are becoming more evident each day.