Data Innovation and the Enterprise Edge

I came across a write up of Peer39 recently and remembered an earlier post describing why Ed Sim first invested.  His rationale:

"What we love about the model is that with some proprietary algorithms we believe we can turn just plain data into real usable information to dramatically improve the effectiveness of advertising, and that as a fund we believe there are many more opportunities on the web to take unstructured data, apply some algorithms, and turn it into real valuable information.  The other beauty is that if we execute correctly, it is an extremely scalable and capital efficient business."

Earlier I posted a summary of the  guiding principles and strategy for the Enterprise Edge economy based on thought leaders like Umair, Doc Searls, Stowe, Alan, Tim .  The strategic principles included:

1. Value from hard to recreate data that gets better with use
2. Focus on the end user and all else follows
3. Advantage begins in the DNA
4. Talk less, Listen more
5. Invert orthodox strategy decisions
6. Open > Closed
7. Good > Evil
8. Edge > Core
9. Flow > Data
10. Users > Companies
11. Communities > Brands
12. Adhoc Communities > Directed teams
13. networks, markets and communities
14. transactions, conversations and relationships
15. Two-way flows - Not broadcast
16. Power Laws and Nodes
17. Reed's Law

For me, Ed's rationale for investment in Peer39 is a great example of applying these principles.    

If the 80's was about Hardware Innovation, and the 90's was about Software Innovation, then the 00's - 10's has been / will be about Data Innovation.  

So, one formula for success in the enterprise edge economy could be to:

"Apply algorithms to unstructured data to organize it into usable, open information for end users in a way that adds value through networks, markets or communities."