World of DaaS Roundtable Recap: Data Marketplaces Growth & Distribution

The latest World of DaaS roundtable brought together a dynamic group of data leaders to discuss how data marketplaces are shaping the future of data monetization, delivery, and discovery. From navigating go-to-market alignment to exploring the role of AI and new pricing models, participants shared firsthand lessons, practical strategies, and predictions for where the market is headed:

1. Marketplace Roles: Sales Channel, Delivery Mechanism, or Brand Tool?

Being discoverable where customers already are lowers friction, builds brand awareness, and can generate high-intent leads. Others pointed out that marketplaces are especially useful for packaged data products, like audience segments or lightweight apps, that make adoption easier for first-time buyers.

2. Listing Alone Won’t Cut It

A recurring theme was the myth of passive demand. Many recalled past experiences with marketplaces where they uploaded their data, waited, and… nothing happened. As one participant put it: “We listed on a few marketplaces and after three years, made $3.18. It just didn’t work.”

The platforms that perform best are those with clear go-to-market support, partner engagement, and a compute-driven revenue model. Without plugging into that infrastructure, listing alone rarely moves the needle.

3. What Sets Successful Marketplaces Apart

The group distinguished between legacy-style directories and modern, cloud-native marketplaces. The latter tend to integrate with data workflows, track usage, and enable native collaboration—offering far more than static listings. Some even manage billing and clearing on behalf of providers, which reduces operational complexity and encourages scalability.

Others highlighted marketplaces that offer built-in discovery and marketing support as especially valuable, particularly when they also integrate with partner sales teams and enable co-selling motions.

4. Let Customer Demand Lead the Way

A practical takeaway from the session was to follow customer demand. Participants noted that being present in the ecosystems their customers already use—whether for enrichment, identity resolution, or data collaboration—streamlined activation and reduced sales friction. For many, marketplace participation was driven by direct customer requests, not internal strategy.

One provider summarized: “If our customers are transacting there, we make sure we’re there too.”

5. Flexible Pricing Is the Future

Pricing sparked robust discussion, especially around the rigidity of traditional models. Many providers remain stuck in outdated pricing structures—large annual contracts, seat-based access, or fixed subscriptions. But as buyers diversify, the industry is slowly moving toward hybrid and consumption-based approaches.

Participants shared challenges in shifting pricing for legacy customers, dealing with investor pressure to maintain predictable revenue, and navigating high expectations set by early buyers in specific verticals. There was strong support for flexibility: testing new models, tailoring deals to customer needs, and embracing smaller, recurring revenue opportunities.

6. Democratizing Access Through AI & LLMs

A particularly exciting thread centered on how AI, especially large language models (LLMs), can democratize access to third-party data. Several participants shared tools they’ve built to help non-technical users find ideal data segments with nothing more than a website URL or natural language query.

This trend—lowering the barrier for discovery and usage—opens up a huge market of SMBs and teams that previously couldn’t afford enterprise data infrastructure. In one example, users receive scored recommendations based on their ideal customer profile, allowing them to bypass complex query-building or analyst involvement entirely.

7. What’s Next for Marketplaces

To close, participants discussed how data marketplaces will evolve over the next few years. Several trends emerged:

• Embedded, AI-Driven Discovery 

  LLMs will play a major role in helping buyers surface relevant datasets inside the tools and environments they already use. Marketplaces will be less like storefronts and more like context-aware assistants.

• Flexible, Dynamic Pricing

  Consumption-based and hybrid pricing models will become more common, replacing rigid subscription models that often limit new business.

• Data Marketplaces as Infrastructure

  The most valuable marketplaces will become essential infrastructure, helping manage delivery, discovery, billing, and collaboration in one seamless workflow.

• Expansion of the Buyer Base

  New types of buyers—from SMBs to data-curious professionals—will gain access through AI-powered tooling and simplified onboarding.

• Shift Toward Packaging and Enablement

  Providers will need to offer both raw data and “pre-cooked” data products (audiences, insights, apps) that lower the friction for new buyers.

As one attendee put it: “You can’t rely on buyers to find your value—you have to show it to them, make it actionable, and be where they already are.”

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