If ever we needed to verify that data is the competitive differentiator then consider Tesla and GM below.
AI, machine learning and robotic process automation need massive data- not just "big data".
The organisations that own the data, can give context by joining disparate data sources and finding causal relationships have the key to domination.
Travel, insurance, banking, autonomous vehicles, hospitality- doesn't matter. The Googles and Facebooks of the world can steal markets exploiting the data they amass.
The more data Tesla gathers from its self-driving cars, the better it can make them at driving themselves—part of the reason the firm, which sold only 25,000 cars in the first quarter, is now worth more than GM, which sold 2.3m. Vast pools of data can thus act as protective moats.