While the debate over data vs information may seem old, and seen as stale and academic, the difference between the two becomes more crucial every day, as volumes of data gathered about us exceeds what we know ourselves.
This is according to Dr Barry Devlin, founder and principal of 9sight Consulting. Devlin, who is one of the foremost authorities on business insight and one of the founders of data warehousing, will be presenting on 'Data vs Information - Now it's Really Vital' - at the ITWeb Business Intelligence & Analytics Summit 2018, to be held on 14 and 15 March, at The Forum, in Bryanston.
According to Devlin, regardless of whether it is business such as Google or Amazon, or government at home or abroad, data feeds algorithms that determine how we treat, or are treated as, customers and citizens. Distinguishing between data and information, as well as knowledge and meaning, will be a key skill in avoiding the dominance of the data rich.
Data in context
"Data consists of raw facts, often simple numbers or words. Information adds context to data. Twenty-four is data, as is 24 degrees Celsius. In Cape Town, today, I'm gradually adding context, and this is becoming information."
He says fully contextualised information tells him why this is interesting - it translates into a low probability of much-needed rain.
Speaking of why data-driven decision-making is dangerous, Devlin says if decisions are driven by data only, we are missing the context that information adds.
"Data-driven decision-making is lazy talk. What we need is information-informed evaluations that allow decision-makers to explore the meaning of the underlying facts and beyond that to include other relevant considerations."
Delegates attending Devlin's talk will gain a new level of respect for the data and information they gather and use in their business, an understanding of what can go wrong if context is missed or ignored, and how data is misused and abused throughout the business and government.
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