Data as a Business Weapon: How Your Competitors Are Using Data to Crush You and How You Can Fight Back

In 1997 I wrote my thesis on “The Application of Information Warfare to Business Strategy & Planning.” A large part of it was based on my understanding of how information (and this means data too), could and will be used as a weapon in the future. I even applied the teachings on Sun Tzu to the equation and a bunch of business strategy frameworks from Porter, Kotler and others. It was only this morning that I was thinking about it again and how it applies to the world of business we live in now.

Let’s get to matter at hand. Most companies out there like to think they’re “data driven.” Whatever that means to them, and I’m not getting into definitions as that’s just something data folks like to focus on as a distraction!

These “data-driven” companies have invested millions into platforms, dashboards, and headcount. They’ve hired CDOs, built data teams, maybe even experimented with AI pilots. But if you peel back the layers, the uncomfortable truth emerges:

Very few are using data as a competitive business weapon.

However, there are many out there that are and those are probably the usual suspects that we hear about day in day out and then there will be those that are very quiet and going about their day, keeping shtum about what they are doing, and you know who you are. Quietly, effectively, and relentlessly. While you are refining reports, they are redesigning how the business operates. They aren’t building for governance and control; they are building for speed, foresight, and dominance.

This isn’t about being “data driven.” That term is limp, overused, and devoid of any edge. The best companies today are data armed, and they’re using that intelligence to outmanoeuvre, out price, and outgrow everyone else.

This Is Not a Data Strategy Problem. This Is a Competitive Strategy Problem.

I know I speak a lot about data strategy, however, as I thought about this at length this morning, this is about competitive strategy. How you get ahead on the market and build better products and services, while bringing in the revenue and smashing the growth numbers!

Many companies are still trying to make dashboards more user friendly, while their rivals re-engineered their pricing algorithm to flex in real time based on competitor moves and market demand.

While many are discussing data governance frameworks, others are using predictive models to intercept customer churn before it even surfaces in the CRM.

So, while you are running another workshop on “data literacy,” others and their front line teams already have the insights they need to take decisive action, without waiting for reports.

Your competitors aren’t running a better data project. They’re running a more intelligent business. This is what it is about, not about running a “data project”, that’s just how many companies get distracted with the shiny new object syndrome!

The Fallacy of “Data as an Asset”

We’ve spent the last decade parroting the idea that “data is the new oil.” Yep, it sold many an Economist magazine and made for a good buzzword around the boardrooms, where people would raise it as a flash in the pan statement to portray that they were on trend! It made for a great headline. But simply put, oil must be refined, stored, regulated. It’s passive.

Data and information in contrast, is only valuable when it’s used aggressively and decisively. Yep, I did say that and the operative word there is decisively! An exchange I had with Eddie Short the other day on one of his posts confirmed that decisioning is great, but what’s even better is when action and decisions are taken together to impact the competitive strategy.

Data for me isn’t an asset. It’s ammunition. Load it up, aim, fire and take decisions and make actions to pivot, target new customers, delight existing ones, create new products and act decisively!

Here’s the thing, there will be many companies out there that brag about how much data they are hoarding (I mean sitting on), but the companies that win in this new era aren’t the ones sitting on the biggest reserves, they’re the ones who’ve learned to fire accurately and fast.

You’re Not Behind on Technology, You’re Behind on Business Design

Whichever way you want to put it, business design, business architecture etc., the real issue isn’t the tech stack, it’s the operating model.

You are still running a business designed for a world of hindsight. Which normally consist of static reports, annual strategic planning cycles and largely top-down decision-making.

But who are the winners today?

Those that have rewired their business model for the age of intelligence, building organisations that learn, adapt, and move in real-time.

This isn’t about throwing AI at your problems. It’s about redesigning how your business functions at its core, how it decides, responds, and competes. Back to basics but with an intelligence layer that has been infused into the cultural fabric.

So, What Can You Do About It?

Here’s the good news: This is fixable, but only if you take bold steps.

1. Shift from Reporting to Real-Time – kill the endless dashboard loops. Instead, focus on intelligence systems that surface signals as they happen, and drive decisions automatically or near-instantly.

2. Build a Use Case Armoury – stop starting with what data you have. Start with your biggest commercial battles. Design use cases that generate unfair advantages, not just internal efficiencies.

3. Redesign Your Operating Model – if your org structure, processes, incentives, and culture haven’t evolved to support intelligence first decisions, no amount of AI investment will save you.

4. Train Decision-Makers, Not Just Data Analysts – forget “data literacy.” Train your people to act in ambiguity, read signals, and move fast. Create operators, not just interpreters. This is how the best operators work in the business and military world.

5. Map Your Competitive Blind Spots – ask yourself, what do your competitors know about your market that you don’t? Where are they faster than you? More responsive? Cheaper? That’s where you need to focus, urgently. Basic questions that you can ask and get deeper insights into those weaker areas.

Stop Benchmarking Against Yourself

The harsh truth? Your quarterly KPIs, internal OKRs, and maturity frameworks are irrelevant if your competitors are already eating your lunch. Is that line from a movie! Maybe!

This isn’t about improving incrementally; I’ve used that as a method previously and it doesn’t get companies far and that’s from experience. This is no longer about survival, it’s about reinvention.

Companies like Netflix and Amazon didn’t win because they had more data, they won because they reimagined how to use it. Their intelligence wasn’t trapped in functions, it was embedded in their business model. Let that sit for a moment.

Here is what you need to ask yourself:

Are you using data to explain what’s happened?

Or are you using it to predict, decide, and dominate what’s next?

Because in 2025 and beyond, the companies that win will be the ones who stop admiring their data and start weaponising it for their business success and survival.

Maybe, I should go dig out my thesis!