Researchers at MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research describe three ways to monetize data: improving operations with it, wrapping it into the products and services you already sell, and selling it, which includes selling insights and licensing data to others. Most B2B companies start with the first two. Licensing records to an outside company, including an AI developer, brings in new revenue, but it needs clear rights, de-identified records and a written agreement.
- Improving and wrapping use data inside your own business; selling or licensing earns revenue from outside it.
- The records that help your own team work better are often the ones an outside buyer values most: linked histories of problems, decisions and outcomes.
- Licensing is the only route where records leave your company, so it is the only one that needs a license agreement and a rights review.
The three ways to monetize data
In Data Is Everybody’s Business (MIT Press, 2023), Barbara Wixom, Cynthia Beath and Leslie Owens of MIT CISR describe improving (using data to make operations smoother, faster and cheaper), wrapping (using data to make products and services more appealing) and selling (selling data and insights that solve problems) (MIT Sloan).
| Route | Where the money shows up | Example for a B2B company |
|---|---|---|
| Improving | Lower costs or faster work inside your company | A field service company uses past work orders to stock the right parts on each truck |
| Wrapping | A more valuable version of what you already sell | A logistics company adds on-time delivery reports to its customer contracts |
| Selling or licensing | New revenue from outside the company | A software company licenses de-identified support histories to an AI developer |
Data monetization examples by industry
Each row shows what each route can look like for a different kind of business. These are illustrations of the routes, not reports of specific companies’ results.
| Business | Improve | Wrap | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software company | Use resolved tickets to cut repeat issues | Add usage benchmarks to customer reports | De-identified support and implementation histories |
| Field service and trades | Predict repeat failures from work orders | Offer maintenance-history reports to building owners | De-identified diagnostic and repair records |
| Manufacturer | Use quality investigations to reduce scrap | Share batch quality data with customers | Procedures and investigation records |
| Accounting firm | Standardize review checklists from past engagements | Offer benchmark comparisons to clients | Internal procedures and training material, kept apart from client records |
| Logistics and distribution | Plan capacity from route and exception data | Exception reporting in customer portals | De-identified exception-handling records |
Direct and indirect data monetization
Improving and wrapping are often called indirect monetization: the data earns money through your existing business. Selling and licensing are direct: someone outside pays for the data or the insight itself.
Indirect routes keep the records inside your company. Direct routes do not, which is why they need a rights review, de-identification and a data licensing agreement.
When licensing is worth exploring
Licensing tends to fit established businesses whose records show how real work was done. Check these before spending time on it; see also which company records to consider and who buys company data.
- Several years of retained records, with dates.
- Records that link a problem, the work done and the outcome.
- Records your company created and can authorize, separate from customer or third-party material.
- Personal information that can be removed or de-identified.
- Someone inside the company who understands the records and can answer questions about them.
A first step that moves no records
Start with a description, not an export. List your record categories in the data inventory template, or map one workflow to see how problems, decisions and outcomes connect. When you are ready, talk to Origin; no files are needed to start.
Common questions
What is data monetization?
Turning data into measurable financial value: using it to run the business better, adding it to what you already sell, or selling or licensing it to others.
What is an example of B2B data monetization?
A logistics company that adds on-time delivery reports to its customer contracts is wrapping data. A software company that licenses de-identified support histories to an AI developer is licensing it.
Is it legal to monetize company data?
Using your own data inside the business is usually straightforward. Selling or licensing data that contains personal information is restricted by privacy law, contracts and your own privacy policy. Read the legal guide before any records leave the company.
How much can a company earn by licensing data?
There is no reliable public price for an established business’s records. It depends on the records, the rights you hold, the use and the terms. See how buyers think about value before discussing a number.