Digitalization is the inevitable fate for all modern companies that want to be successful. The modern business environment is built on fast communication and data transmission between devices on internal networks and interactions on the internet.
While the explosion of IT appliances is the main contributor to such transformative changes, everything revolves around the efficient delivery and storage of data. While information is, and always was, the king of all progress and innovation, the importance of data and its fast acquisition has never been higher.
In 2023, all successful businesses use some form of automated data collection to gather valuable knowledge and insights faster than ever before.
Companies distribute powerful tools with customizable algorithmic automation to collect intelligence from competitor websites, search engine pages, social media networks, and online shops.
Other potential targets can be active forums that showcase opinions, desires, and demands of internet users, which can become potential clients in the future.
Investment in data collection tools is necessary for businesses that aim to outperform competitors and stay on top of the mountain. However, while the modern, digitalized methods of communication are very efficient, web connections are not as private as we tend to think.
All interactions with targeted web servers leave a trace – a log of an experienced connection, which shows the sender's IP address. Exposing this information.
To competitors and other third parties can lead to exposure of the company's ties to the connection, or worse – potential DDoS, Brute Force, and other cyber attacks.
Data collection tasks require discreet approaches that safeguard the company's identity, interests, and information stored within the local network.
If you want to collect information with the highest possible levels of privacy and efficiency, follow the example of top businesses and protect all connections with internet privacy tools. Their connections have to be stable, while not losing too much internet speed.
Data collection procedures are not as resource-intensive as file sharing via P2P communication, but multiple instances of these connections can take their toll on stability and internet speed.
After evaluating our needs and criteria for successful data aggregation, dedicated proxy servers are the best option for the job. Also known as data center proxies, they provide fast, secure, and private connections that grant you consistent access to valuable data sources, even if they are unavailable in your country.
Modern businesses buy data center proxies for web scraping, price tracking, and even social media management, where purchases are used to protect fake accounts.
If you believe that these servers can help your use cases, make sure to find legitimate providers to buy data center proxies. Also, while it might be tempting to get a free proxy address and test the service before fully implementing it in data collection procedures, public servers are too slow and unreliable for such a connection.
To make matters worse, public proxy servers are not bound by law to protect transmitted data, therefore, you might end up putting private information into the hands of cybercriminals.
Why Do Businesses Collect So Much Data?
Even in situations where accumulated information serves no purpose in aiding work-related activities, businesses follow the example of the biggest tech corporations, which treat consumers as products – just another source of valuable data used to derive valuable insights.
Even if this information has no direct contribution to the company's business model, data is the most valuable resource on the web, directly responsible for the newest inventions and innovative upgrades.
For example, if a company is responsible for the creation and management of a text editor app, it can use the collected data in the future to implement
How Companies Collect Market Intelligence
When most interactions between businesses and clients are digitalized, data collection gives us a better understanding of the residing market and its competitors.
Then, the extracted and analyzed information plays a huge role in making the most accurate decisions based on market trends, client demands, and competitor adjustments.
Dedicated Proxies Explained: How Do They Bypass Challenges in Data Collection?
Before explaining the unique functionality of dedicated proxies, let's go over the basics of proxy server use. Proxies are middlemen servers that run software that takes your web connection and assigns it a new identity. From that point to the remainder of your connection, all targets will believe that delivered information originates from the IP of a proxy server.
The basic package of most proxy services lets you use a random server from the IP pool. Some providers include location adjustments to help you access restricted websites and extract information without interruptions.
Dedicated proxies are a bit different: for the duration of the plan, a client receives one, or a selection of proxy addresses that are strictly reserved for their use.
This specific deal has some downsides: if you constantly need to collect information from new websites, and do so with automated web scrapers, getting that IP address banned will make it unusable for the specific site, which may force you to switch to an undedicated plan.
Dedicated Proxy Benefits
While you cannot change the IP addresses of dedicated proxies, they have unique and powerful advantages for collecting market intelligence, with perks that are not included in regular deals. This section covers the unique benefits of dedicated proxy servers:
• Consistent Data. Because your proxy connection does not include a fresh supply of new addresses, you can still mask your IP address and benefit from consistent
• Connection Stability. Since nobody has access to the same IPs, dedicated proxies offer the most sustainable and reliable browsing experience, while basic proxy services force you to share the same addresses with other users.
• Adjustable location access. Premium proxy providers let clients choose their fleet of proxy addresses. This way, they can pick a range of the most suitable IPs for targeting the best sources of market intelligence.
Summary
While most data collection procedures rely on basic proxy services, dedicated proxies offer unique benefits for gathering market intelligence.
Also, having a pool of addresses reserved for you translates well into other use cases: social media management, SEO monitoring, Ad verification, and many others.
Get yourself a dedicated proxy today, and test these incredible perks for yourself.