Between a decline in third-party cookies and an increase in data privacy regulations, companies have had to evolve their customer data strategies. Since sharing data can create privacy risks, it’s become more difficult for companies to monetize their data without creating their own walled gardens. Due to these changes, many companies are exploring cloud-based data solutions.

One type of cloud-based data solution is data clean rooms. Clean rooms provide companies with a more privacy-safe method for data collaboration and analysis. Here are our best tips for effective data management in clean rooms.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Data Management

Cloud platforms, like Snowflake, offer their clients a secure place to collate, store, and analyze data. Within cloud software, data clean rooms enable data sharing, collaboration, and analysis. As third-party cookies become increasingly unreliable, the capabilities of data clean rooms will be especially beneficial for advertisers in the media industry.

Within data clean rooms, multiple entities — such as brands, publishers, advertisers, or different divisions of a company — can come together to share their respective first-party data. This data sharing enables them to learn from each other’s data, use advanced algorithms to match data, and derive helpful insights.

The reason that cloud environments are more secure than traditional data sharing is simple: All personally identifiable information (PII) is encrypted, anonymized, or otherwise masked. So, none of the clean room participants have access to another company’s sensitive customer data.

Best Practices for Clean Room Data Management

While many organizations value the flexibility and security of the cloud, solving data challenges in the cloud hasn’t always been an option. However, many data providers and technology companies have begun to build data solutions for cloud environments.

Here are the best practices we recommend for effective and efficient data management:

1. Start with data hygiene. Ensuring that your data is accurate and actionable is the first step to effective collaboration in clean rooms.
2. Identify and fill gaps. You may not have the right data to accomplish your goals. A data enrichment solution can help you find the data you’re missing.
3. Find reputable partners and collaborators. If you’re sharing data, you need to do your research. Make sure any partner you work with follows all applicable privacy legislation and processes opt-outs correctly. Additionally, it can be helpful to find partners that have compliance certifications, like SOC 2 Type II, and follow industry best practices, like the guidelines set by the Association of National Advertisers.

By following these three key steps, you can ensure you can make the most of your clean room collaboration.

Are clean rooms the future of data management?

As privacy becomes increasingly important to consumers, proper data management practices will serve companies well now and in the future. In 2025 and beyond, marketers should continue to learn more about the cloud, the native applications available in cloud marketplaces, and clean rooms — and the growth potential that cloud-based solutions provide.

This article was originally published in the Association of National Advertisers’ Marketing Knowledge Center: “Data Clean Rooms: Tips for Effective Data Management”