Data Value Is Rooted In Its Veracity Posted on : Apr 07 - 2021

There’s no denying that data is the backbone on which modern companies operate. Organizations, big and small, use it to make critical decisions and drive business forward. Whether it’s self-driving cars, social networking, entertainment, music, health care or something else, every industry today is data-enabled, contributing to the generation of diverse data sets. Real-time and batch updates from sensors, software and hardware contribute to the speed at which data is generated.

Every day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated worldwide thanks to an always-on culture with billions of connected consumers and IoT devices. But data alone is just that: data. Without structure and analysis, the data has no real value. It’s what we do with it, and how accurate the data is, that makes all the difference.

When good data is collected, stored and used ethically, it can make the impossible happen. We recently watched in awe as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory executed the entry, descent and landing phase of NASA’s mission to Mars. At more than 140 million miles away, the landing sequence happened faster than radio signals could reach Earth from Mars, which means the spacecraft was on its own once it entered the Martian atmosphere. Those “seven minutes of terror” were only successful based on years of data collection, accurate analysis and application.

Bad data, on the other hand, leads to bad decisions. Bad data can lead to loss of revenue, poor results, invalid reports, missed opportunities and, in the worst case, loss of human life. Former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg reported that erroneous data contributed to two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019, which led to the death of 346 people. Bad data also cost NASA $193 million in losses when the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed in outer space in 1999.

IBM Big Data & Analytics Research estimates poor data quality costs the U.S. economy $3.1 trillion a year. According to Experian’s 2019 Global Data Research, 95% of organizations surveyed reported bad data impacted their business. View More