Earlier this year, I conducted a series of podcasts with some of the leading lights in the Data Market business.

We delved into the things that differentiated them from one another, and we searched for the areas of commonality that might provide some boundaries to the rather fluid concept of a market for a non-rival good like data. Through ten separate conversations, I had opportunities to talk with old friends and acquaintances, and to explore the ideas of people whom I had previously only admired from afar.

Some of the insights from that process have now been written up in a report for GigaOM Pro; Data Markets: In search of new business models.

As the blurb states,

From information on U.S. census returns to the location of every Starbucks in Canada, the demand for data to support decision making is increasing. Fittingly, a number of new data markets have emerged in the past few years that provide access to this data.

A wide range of companies exists in this space, and often there are more differences than similarities in the various products on offer, not to mention the many different financial models. This report describes the basics of a data market, explores the ways in which various companies are beginning to position their offerings, and looks for evidence that there is sufficient demand for this market segment to prove sustainable.

GigaOM Pro reports are only available to subscribers. If you aren’t (yet!) a subscriber and want to read this report, you can sign up for a week’s free trial access to the site.