This week Google's announcement somehow managed to send shockwaves through the ad tech world.  In essence, they've confirmed what has been communicated between the lines for a long time: Google has no interest in helping other platforms in any way.  There is a clear path towards cutting out the competition, doing so under the promise of privacy and "greater good."

This is the greatest opportunity for adtech in a long time.

At Optable, our focus is on data connectivity for this new era in ad tech.  Our thesis is simple:

1. Privacy is now a feature in software, and that trend is not stopping
2. Legislation around personal data protection is going to continue to proliferate around the world

This is all leading to a world with more walled gardens that care deeply about their first party data, curating that data with direct consent provided by end-users.

As a result, the best way to compete with the incumbents is to work together on the basis of this data.  Prior to the erosion of global identifiers, this connectivity layer wasn't necessary. The whole ecosystem was stitched up using cookies and MAIDs.  Now, it is very much is tablestakes.

To make this collaboration easier while improving on trust issues, we are now offering new ways to connect data, ways that are anchored in security and privacy, using cryptography as an enabler.

The future is not going to lean on one identity framework that replaces global identifiers: the new ecosystem will be constructed using a patchwork of identity frameworks, operating in and around walled gardens, connecting data to each other without sacrificing users' privacy.

How exciting is that?