Digital Marketplaces Unleashed: Mastering Knowledge Intensive Assets

Cheranellore Vasudevan is currently working as a Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM) at the IBM Global Chief Data Office (GCDO) with a focus on technical vitality and marketplace strategy. He has over 35 years of industry experience covering stints in research, development, technology strategy, and professional services. Vasudevan is a Member of the IBM Academy of Technology and is an IBM Master Inventor with over 60 U.S. patents to his credit. He also serves on the Data and AI Core Team of the IBM Academy of Technology. Ranjan Sinha is an IBM Fellow, Vice President, and Chief Technology Officer for the IBM Global Chief Data Office. He leads the data and platform strategy, engineering, and is on the front lines of transforming IBM into an AI enterprise. He guides IBM's clients to navigate and accelerate their data and AI transformation journeys. He is a seasoned technical leader, building and operating data and AI platforms and solutions from inception to production. Prior to IBM, he was at eBay Marketplaces, where he contributed to several business-impacting innovations. Roger E. Sanders is a Principal Sales Enablement & Skills Content Specialist at IBM. He has worked with Db2 (formerly DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows) since it was first introduced on the IBM PC (1991) and is the author of 26 books on relational database technology (25 on Db2; one on ODBC). For 10 years he authored the “Distributed DBA” column in IBM Data Magazine, and he has written articles for publications like Certification Magazine, Database Trends and Applications, and IDUG Solutions Journal (the official magazine of the International Db2 User's Group).

Acknowledgments vii
Preface ix
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Knowledge Intensive Assets (KIAs) 1
What Is a Marketplace? 2
Marketplace Economy 3
About This Book 3
Chapter 2: The Emergence of Commerce 5
Introduction 5
The Beginnings of Trade 6
The Modern Marketplaces 7
Marketplace Models 8
Disruptive Marketplaces 10
Recap 11
Chapter 3: Technology for Digital Commerce and Platforms 13
Introduction 13
The Internet 13
Cloud Computing 14
Digital Payments 15
Metaverse 16
Current Major Marketplace Players 18
Recap 24
Chapter 4: Knowledge Intensive Assets (KIAs) for Trading 25
Introduction 25
Data Sets 26
AI Models 32
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) 43
Software Modules 46
Digital Twins 46iv •
Contents
Engineering Designs, Drawings, and Manuals 50
Media Entertainment Products 51
Games 54
Jobs 56
Social Business and Personal Communication 59
Photos, Images, Illustrations 63
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) 67
Courseware, Knowledge Repositories, Templates 68
Digital Ads and Promotions 73
Ecosystem Playgrounds for KIAs 74
Recap 76
Chapter 5: Marketplace Functions for KIA Assets 77
Introduction 77
Vendor Development 77
Display of Products/Catalogs 78
Pricing and Price Policies 82
Payments 85
Incentives and Royalties 88
Order Management 89
Shipping and Delivery 90
After-Sales (aka Post-Sales) Service 93
User Experience 93
Financing 93
Customizations and Personalization 94
Ratings, Reviews, and Recommendations 96
Advertising 97
Marketplace Data Analytics 97
Recap 99
Chapter 6: Revenue Models for KIA Marketplaces 103
Introduction 103Outright Sales 104Subscription Fee 104Pay-as-You-Use 105Membership Fees 105Barter System 106Donations for Public or Free Offerings 107
Contents •v
Associated Services: Tools, Consulting, Training 108
Advertisements 109
Financing: Credit Cards, Gift Cards, Long-Term Credits 110
Leasing 111
Committed Spends 112
Marketplace KPIs 113
Recap 114
Chapter 7: Automation and Scaling of KIA Marketplaces 115
Introduction 115
Automation Is the Key to Scaling 115
Quality and Privacy of KIAs in Marketplaces 117
Securing KIA Assets in Marketplaces 120
Importance and Challenges for Data Distribution and Sharing 122
Making the KIA Marketplaces User-Friendly 124
Life Cycle Management of KIA Assets 126
Ecosystem Around KIA Assets 126
Chapter 8: Negotiations 131
Advertising 132
Co-selling and Upselling in KIA Marketplaces 132
Can KIA Marketplaces Include Conventional Physical Products? 132
Recap 132
Chapter 9: Social Impacts of KIA Marketplaces 133
Introduction 133
Social Interactions 133
Democratization of Asset Building, Ownership, and Trading 134
Economic Impacts 135
Ease of Transactions 135
Jobs136
New Economies 137
Recap 137
Chapter 10: KIA Marketplaces: Building It Right, Challenges Beyond the Business and Technology 139
Introduction 139
Cultural Impact 142
Restrictions on Types of Consumption and Usage 143
Liability Considerations 144
Vendor Certification 144
Ethical Considerations 145
Recap 145
Chapter 11: KIA Marketplaces: Trends and Future Directions 147
Introduction 147
What Are Successful Use Case Scenarios? 148
What Are the Ethical Considerations? 148
What Are the Trends? 152
Recap 153
Glossary 155
References 159