Data is imagination.

Or, imagination is data.

I've written a lot of how important data is in positively effecting the lives of people.

And that this is the only reason for capturing, managing, and governing data at all.

Well, I was chatting with a manufacturer last night and he said something I thought only builds on this.

And is something I think is largely missed when considering the human element of data.

Data can be an idea turned physical.

Here’s what I mean:

You're a manufacturer, and from your imagination an idea has sprung. You want to see if it'll work. If it can become something useful. Marketable. Consumable. Profitable (in some instances).

So you pull together the chemicals, items, or ingredients to bring this new idea - from your imagination - to life.

Data is already being created.

You want to see what happens when you bring these things together. What is the result; is it what you imagined it to be …

What type of polymer will be created by combining particular chemicals and what can it be used for?

What flavour will be created by mixing ingredients?

How will you obtain the items in a commercially viable way to create your recently imagined item?

Can you gather the separate components from sustainably sourced viscose?

At every step of developing this idea into reality comes data. Data that will then be used to support commercial viability and visibility. And from the consumption comes forth a plethora of data.

So you see, data is simply someone’s imagination born out into reality. And once tangible, the data footprint it leaves only continues to grow.

It is our task, as data professionals, to understand what data adds value, and then find a way to capture, manage and govern it in a sustainable way …

I pause here in thought because although this is true, there’s really only one reason to manage this data.

And that’s to add value to the consumer of the products we have imagined.

Will it help them make more informed buying decisions?

Will it help them answer any questions about the products origins … or sustainability … or ingredients?

There’s so much more to data than just information.

And much like the largest lakes begin with the smallest trickle, data begins with the simplest of ideas born of one’s imagination.