You have a lot of data – we know that. But, do you have information? Do you know the difference? Data is all the stuff you have, from real time data to stale folders that haven’t been touched in years. Information is the value that you derive from that. You store, archive and back-up – you add to your ever-growing pile, but do you get anything from the data?
Everybody is talking about big data – but are you doing anything with it? With the overabundance of data it is easy to miss out on the information that you have. In order to corral all of that data into information it is important to have a Data Governance plan in place. Who owns the data, who’s using it, how are they using it, where is it, where should it go are all questions that should be easily answered.
Data can be used in a variety of ways to garner information. All areas of your organization should be utilizing the information for improvements. IT can solve issues faster, business can make more informed decisions, marketing and sales can identify opportunities faster.
Next up after the “Big Data” rush will be “IoT”, the Internet of things. By 2020 it is estimated that more than 26 billion devices will be connected to the internet.
That’s a lot of data being created – will you turn it into valuable information?
