On this episode of the Payments Innovation Podcast we sit down with Bill Dague a Senior Data Scientist at Quandl. Before he began working with Alternative Data at Quandl he was at Nasdaq, before they acquired Quandl.  According to Bill, the world of data science is changing, for employees dedicated to working in the field, and companies seeking to maximize revenue by leveraging its power through data.  Sometimes, the byproduct data can help companies to sort out the following unexpected benefits: -new consumer insights -deeper understanding of consumer trends and habits -competitive dynamics by industry -broader overall picture of the economy Data can come from anywhere, which is why it’s such an important field. Due to the ubiquity of the data available to companies, Bill explains that we are only now just beginning to scratch the surface of how that data can be relevant and useful to companies. For instance, most data is tied up in a small handful of companies. Bill shared that from his perspective it appears that the playing field is about to open up with new emerging companies stepping into the arena.