The 2013 DataContent conference just wrapped up yesterday and, once again, it offered outstanding insight into the innovation going on in our industry. Here are my favorite highlights from the show:
RetailNext: Founded by some ex-Cisco engineers in 2007 these folks use heat sensors in retail shops to track traffic flow. Previous tech allowed retailers to count the number of visitors crossing the threshold but this service can get very granular on where visitors go, whether they interact with sales staff (via RFID monitors on employees), whether they purchase, and whether they leave and come back later. Wow.
FindTheCompany and Enigma: These two start-ups are taking on D&B head-on. What I love about these guys is that they both are doing what I had proposed to Hoover’s when I was as their head of new product development back in 1998! One-stop shop for all info on a company. There are variations in their business models and interfaces, but it is nonetheless exciting to finally some real movement to fulfill the mission that Hoover’s once aspired to.
Where are they now?: This fascinating look at the evolution of three fast companies from a decade ago (DemandBase, Wand, and BrightScope) showed how companies can pivot their offerings and business models and survive. Scott Taylor from InfoCommerce Group did an amazing job of getting at the way these firms transformed and prospered.
Relationship Science: This well-financed start-up from Neal Goldman (of Capital IQ fame) is designed to make it easier for those trying to reach the rich and powerful to do so through their existing networks. (Hint: It helps to be rich and powerful yourself!) The amazing thing about this start-up to me is how closely the service’s model maps to the breakthrough BoardroomInsiders.com service, itself a winner of an award at the DataContent show a few years ago.
