A big component of the VAN is having access to the names and addresses of likely democratic voters, which I understand this company to basically be selling access to and building tools around.
So it’s not so much the data tools so much as the access.
That all being said, 20-16 till now, and the constant physical irritant that was the Trump years have left people pretty damn jaded. I’m a bit dubious about the value of these lists, but without them, a campaign is starting from scratch.
It’s a tough thing, but if you need to reach 100k voters to win an election, you need both data and people.