The Data Mesh and a New Currency of Value

Amazon and Alibaba are reconfiguring our world. They are both racing to become the world’s first trillion dollar companies and have spent the past ten years and more accelerating quickly beyond their original intent of just being a place to shop online. Amazon has raised our expectations of any new service or product offering from any new or established company such that we all demand and want what Amazon delivers – convenience. To have it any less for any company would be anathema and a sure path to self-destruction. Amazon uses our behavioral data to create a mesh of awareness so that I can talk to a black cylinder near my bedside or in my kitchen and order whatever I fancy and have it delivered that same day. Google does the same with Google Home. What expectations Amazon creates for shopping Google does for search. The currency of value that both create is convenience. And convenience is what we expect and demand of all companies. As all three, Amazon, Alibaba and Google, expand into other offerings – banking, insurance, credit cards and health care – so we demand of others what they offer. We are loyal to just a few brands and are fickle and shift preference based on our expectations across all new services or experiences we encounter. Uber and Lyft have reconfigured our expectations for a car manufacturer. Airbnb has reconfigured our expectations of travel. As older companies hurry to optimize their experience to meet expectations they risk becoming vanilla if they don’t give us a reason to engage. All of the companies mentioned above have one key ingredient that ensures their success – our data – and all because they offer us one thing we all value – convenience. As we live in a growing data mesh it doesn’t take a leap to believe that the next trillion dollar company won’t be built on recognizing that our time on this earth is time well spent.