What kind of in-house capabilities were necessary for companies like RioTinto and GE to succeed in their ambitious analytic initiatives? As with many new technologies, especially in the early adopter phase, the demand for skills in the algorithm economy has far outpaced the supply. However, that gap shouldn’t deter businesses from implementing their own projects.

Most new economic models are built on a foundation that allows them to scale up. That foundation might be a specific technology, or it could be a cultural paradigm shift that supports the change. In the case of the algorithm economy, both of these play roles.

The technology that enables the algorithm economy to scale up is the very same thing that is at the core of the shift itself: the Internet and related digital technologies. The cultural shift is actually rooted in an economic model that has recently driven disruption around the world, giving birth to companies...