Technology companies with a vested interest in the web have come together to bring about a revolution in big data. Their sole intention is to develop a common online data standard approved by web standards body, W3C, to help create some uniformity in the online industry.
IBM, Google, Adobe, Accenture, Qubit and more than 20 others are working towards standardising and simplifying the management of data online. The standard will affect everything from information about products to data about customer journeys across pages.
Performance marketers will be all too aware of just how integral website data is. Information about on and off-site activity powers the marketing and analytical tools that large portions of the industry use on a daily basis.
The companies are currently discussing how to bring about a universal data format that any tool can understand. W3Care being involved from the get go to ensure the format becomes the de facto standard used by the industry.
Too Many Formats
Presently, data is provided and requested in a wide variety of proprietary formats. The wasted time caused by this additional complexity causes many a headache for businesses and their customers.
With a standardised model, website development time is set to be reduced and the whole management process will become far more efficient. Having one data model to rule them all would mean that various web technologies take on a ‘plug and play’ mantra.
Graham Cooke, chief executive of founder participant, Qubit, feels today’s data use needs changing. “Standardising website data is the obvious choice for the industry,” he said. “The current situation has simply developed organically, but it’s not a place that anyone would choose to be.”
IBM initially started working on the standard. No doubt the technology and consulting company grew tired of having to custom-build data exchanges between programmes each time it implemented a new tool or service.