1 Building Data Powerhouses: What Can We Learn from the Digital Titans?

In January 2020, at the start of a new decade, seven of the ten most valued companies in the world were digital titans. The aggregate valuation of five of them—Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon— surpassed $5 trillion. Together, they accounted for around 20 percent of the market value of the entire S&P 500 companies. They also remained poised to further entrench their dominance in the coming years.1 What was the most significant factor behind their rise? Their prowess in benefiting from data.2