The valuation of digital intangibiles. Technology, marketing and internet

Offers a primer on the valuation of digital intangibiles, a trendy class of immaterial assets. An intangible is a non-monetary asset that manifests itself by its economic properties. It does not have physical substance but grants rights and economic benefits to its owner. Intangibles are the core component of modern competitive advantage that expresses the leverage of a business over its competitors. According to Michael Porter, firms can achieve a competitive edge with cost or differentiation advantage. Intangibles play a crucial role in both strategies, bringing to cost savings (with know-how, patents, etc.) or differentiation (using brands, etc.), and fostering a structural shift in business models. This traditional value driver has been amplified by a new generation of Internet-related intangibles, driven by the growth of the service economy and the digital explosion. The digital revolution reshapes traditional intangibles and creates new ones: • Digital brands are indissolubly linked to their web domains; • Know-how and patents follow product and process innovation fueled by artificial intelligence and blockchains; • Networks become social through their digital platforms, using M-Apps to access the web; • Technological startups ignite the creation and marketing of innovation and frontier applications, fully reengineering old-fashioned business models; • The information has become a worthy asset, nurtured by big data and Internet of Things sensors; • Interoperable databases share and recombine information in real-time, adding up value; Digital applications are to this century what oil represented for the past one: a driver of growth, wealth, and change.