There Are New Markets for Industrial IoT Data
its farm equipment. The data from these
machines helps to improve machine
performance and farming outcomes 8 . To
achieve this, John Deere formed a dedicated
business unit - Intelligent Solutions Group.
a few lessons for IIoT data opportunities.
Some of this information exists in the public
domain thanks to the Federal Trade
Commission 10 .
The motivation for trading consumer data in
order to aggregate across multiple sources
becomes apparent from a 2013 regulatory
filing 11 by the data broker, Acxiom. In order
to develop a single view of a customer, for
targeted marketing purposes, there is a
significant economic benefit to combining
data from multiple sources. Acxiom claimed
that multi-variate targeting performed 4-10
times better than traditional approaches.
The combination of remote connectivity,
precision data and software allows John
Deere dealers and farmers to coordinate
machines and optimize sowing and
harvesting jobs, for example. John Deere’s
multi-sided business model includes data
collection and on-line access tools so that
farmers can make better informed
agronomic decisions.
Data ownership and exploitation rights are a
consequence of this evolution in the agri-
business model. In a sign of how the
treatment of IIoT data is evolving, John
Deere recently announced that it had
achieved the Ag Data Transparent (ADT)
Certification 9 which protects farmers from
having their data being used against them or
inappropriately shared.
One would expect Uber, a company whose
business model relies on intensive use of
Economic Evidence for Data Becoming a
Tradeable Asset
The consumer sector, which has a relatively
long history for trading personal data, offers
Figure 1 Multi-variate Data Delivers Better Marketing Performance
8 John Deere Committed to Those Linked to the Land, Investor Presentation, Deere & Company Aug/Sep 2016 (accessed via
https://investor.deere.com/home/)
9 John Deere achieves Ag Data Certi fication (2018) - https://agfundernews.com/john-deere-obtains-ag-data-transparent-
certification.html
10 Questionable practices under FTC scrutiny - https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2013/12/ftc-testifies-data-
brokers-senate-committee-commerce-science
11 Acxiom Investor Day Product Briefing, Scott Howe, CEO, 6 Mar 2013
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