Everyone is talking about data. What is it?

Some people talk about data as if it was some new black gold and others as if it was a treasure needing protection. But in the end what is data ?

Many experts have tried to answer this very broad question, since the significance of data began to emerge in the early 2000s.

Let’s take 3 minutes to outline this huge subject together.

What is data?

Data is information on which we base an observation, fact, supposition, reasoning, or probability and which serves as a basis for research or some form of study. So, computer data is a representation of information in a conventional or normalized form, to make its processing easier.

Everyone wants source data

The value of data is in its use. This value has a name: knowledge. We can now understand what is at stake in terms of data usage. Is it a treasure we should actively protect or a wealth of intangible raw material that can be used to make a profit?

On what scale is this data usable?

Infographic The dimensions of source data

Naturally there are other criteria which make it easy or not to use this wealth of knowledge. The very nature of the data – is it structured or not?

The format of the data used is also important – would a computer understand it? The most widespread format is CSV, but there are many others.