Data Is The New Oil

Data is the new oil. It's valuable, but if unrefined it cannot really be used. It has to be changed into gas, plastic, chemicals, etc to create a valuable entity that drives profitable activity; so must data be broken down, analysed for it to have value.

- Clive Humby, a British mathematician and entrepreneur in the field of data science and customer-centric business strategies.

There are approximately 560 million internet users in India at present, and the number is projected to surpass 600 million by the next year. From where you travel and what you eat to your shopping preferences, everything is an asset.

A country like India is like a data mine, which is only getting discovered more every day. The issues surrounding data localisation and data protection are becoming a more crucial part of our data debate. It is important to have the technical know-how of dealing with this resource which has such a huge potential. How efficiently India manages data shall also determine India's global stand in the international arena in the coming years.

Remember when we earlier talked about how platforms likeFacebookandInstagramusing geo-tagging to show us local ads? This is an example of how data collected from individuals is owned and used by the companies like Google, Facebook and food delivery apps like Zomato.

Let's dig in about more parallels between data and oil today.

Data is the most useful in its refined form. It follows the loop of going through data to information to knowledge to decision to result. Data in the form of analytics is intelligently built into sequences of instructions to create algorithms and these algorithms can be run on different platforms as applications.

Data is just the raw material, it is not the finished product. It needs to be turned into information, knowledge and actions to be termed as truly meaningful.

A growing business receives more opinions from people about its possible future strategy. If you are armed with good data, you can easily throw random opinions out of the park. Mathematical modelling has made it easier for everything to be tested, measured and improved. If something can be measured, it can definitely be improved. Testing new ideas and leveraging new opportunities can give the best insights for the business. These analytical insights can be used directly to improve your business.

Real-time access to the most important data in business strengthens the core of your enterprise.Rannkly's comprehensive insights into customer sentiments and brand perception add morevalue to the data repository. Knowing which key performance indicators influence them and other business goals is much more important than just being aware about total revenue estimates, profits or losses.

Oil is precious. But when we talk in terms of environmental impact, we are constantly working on more sustainable and cleaner sources of energy. Data's story is quite similar too. Privacy-protected business models and enhanced data security are the key to the safe future.

Just like in the greenhouse effect, data is getting accumulated in our corporate walls. Our saved search queries, web activity and communications are often shared among companies, and in some cases even with the government. This depletes the quality of our personal lives.

It is, therefore, important to take up alternative measure to counter the wrath of unregulated data and use legal means to have control of our digital footprint.

Data is as important to the 21 century as the oil was back in the 18 century a huge, unutilized treasure of the future. Those who can fathom the fundamental value of data now will reap immense rewards in the coming years.

We are living in a digital economy where data's worth has not been more valuable before. It is the fuel that is driving the progress, and without it, the progress would come to a standstill.