The data economy
Why should we pay attention to the data economy?
It’s even news with the mainstream daily newspapers – we live in a data economy. Data is being generated everywhere you look and more than a few places you haven’t.
For years, data has been collected, processed and distributed in ways that have improved our lives and our businesses. Take the National Weather Service as one example. Tens of thousands of sensors, airplanes, satellites, weather observers and volunteers have been collecting data (every type of weather-related information), for decades. The processed data and weather models help us plan our weekend, schedule our labor force, modify our insurance coverage, plant and harvest crops, manage our natural resources.
Today, sensors can tell us when the trash bin is full and needs to be emptied; when remote fuel tanks need replenishment; when we’ve reached our calories-burned goal for the day.
We read about terms like the Internet of Things, Machine 2 Machine and how they contribute to Big Data.
What data are you collecting? why are you collecting data? how will data become useful? who will want or need this data? are you generating data? refining, managing or analyzing the data? Is the data structured or unstructured?
Moving data
One point that is often over looked is how to ensure that data is accessible to anyone that needs it. How is it processed; where is it processed and how fast is it processed because this has a cost, a risk and a huge impact on decision making.
A key element here is data movement and data management – the relatively free flow of data across the enterprise, without the constraints of proprietary hardware, operating systems or geography (network quality).
It’s good to produce the data (aligned with the organization’s goals) but if it’s not accessible to those who can leverage and maximize its value, significant opportunity is lost.
Think about this another way – solving the problem of seamless data movement will allow the organization to deliver new insights with a measurable impact on the bottom line.
And how valuable is that?
— Steven
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