Some innovations don’t just create new tools - they rewrite the rules of the economy. The arrival of credit did that for money, turning static wealth into something fluid, investable, and able to spark entirely new industries. We are now seeing the beginnings of a similar shift, but the asset at the centre isn’t capital. It’s data - and the way its value is created, exchanged, and multiplied is about to change completely.
The value of data is no longer constrained or defined by the systems that hold it. The rise of AI, the demand for interoperability, and the emergence of new economic models are turning data into a liquid, high-velocity asset. The question now is how quickly and at what scale that value can be realised and what new markets will take shape as it begins to move.
For most of the digital era, the value of data has been tied to the point of collection. Whoever captured it first controlled the advantage. Google’s dominance in search and advertising came from owning the world’s search queries. Visa and Mastercard built powerful businesses around exclusive visibility into global payment transactions. Facebook’s social graph data became the foundation for one of the most targeted advertising engines ever created. In each case, the collector became the gatekeeper, deciding whether to use the data internally or monetise it externally.
That logic is breaking down. The real value now emerges at the point of combination - when data from multiple sources intersects to create insight, precision, or entirely new capabilities. This inversion rewrites the economics of data.
The decisive advantage will now lie with those who can position their data so it is ready to combine with other sources at speed and scale. The definition of “owning” data will shift - control alone will matter less than the ability to place it in the flows where the highest-value outcomes are created.
When data can move with confidence, carrying its provenance, usage rights, and context wherever it goes, velocity itself becomes a driver of value. Each movement is an opportunity to add context, refine accuracy, or spark a new use. Just as liquidity transformed financial markets, the circulation of trustworthy, usable data will accelerate innovation and create compounding returns. To operate in this environment, organisations need more than systems of record to store information or systems of engagement to deliver it. They need a true system of intelligence - an architectural layer that continuously connects, enriches, and activates data across boundaries. This is what turns static assets into high-velocity flows, ready to generate value the moment they are needed.
Most enterprises are still set up for the old model, where advantage was tied to proprietary control and closed strategies. Their systems, incentives, and governance are optimised for ownership, not participation. In the new model, the winners will be those who design for readiness - the ability to connect, enrich, and activate data the moment an opportunity arises. That readiness will determine who shapes the most valuable flows and who is left outside them.
As this model scales, the flows of data will extend far beyond the boundaries of any single organisation. Autonomous systems will trade, combine, and apply information in real time. Markets will form around rich context - the surrounding meaning, relationships, and verification that make data reliable and immediately usable - rather than raw datasets alone. New forms of value exchange will emerge to recognise and reward those who contribute the most useful and trustworthy data, accelerating participation and innovation. And as with any market, once the infrastructure and trust are in place, activity will accelerate in ways that are difficult to predict but impossible to ignore.
The shift is already underway. Once the rules, infrastructure, and incentives for this new data economy take hold, the pace will be relentless. Leaders have a choice: take the lead in the flows and mechanisms that will define how data creates value, or watch as others set the pace. Those who move first will not just capture more value - they will determine how it is created and shared in the decades ahead.
