Data and Information, how to use them to boost your business

At first glance, data and information seem to be the same thing. But that's not the case. 

It's true, the two concepts have a lot in common. After all, it is through them that we are able to build knowledge. However, data is raw knowledge, it is the raw material of information. It can be numbers, symbols, characters, words, code and graphics.

Information, in turn, is the organization of thisdata in order to produce relevant knowledge. It is data placed in a certain context so that we humans can do something with it, such as making a decision or a prediction.

An individual has an almost unlimited amount of data associated with him or herself. This data is of little use to businesses in its raw, unorganized form. It is only once the data has been formatted or compiled into something meaningful that the company can then obtain information about the individual.

Have you ever thought about how much data you generate yourself? Every time you make a purchase, sign up for a course, register your CV on a website, open a bank account or hire a service, your data is tracked and information is generated about you. 

The use of data in business

A while ago, we thought about the value of businesses in terms of assets - property, factories, equipment, stock and even human resources. The explosion of technology in the last decade has made us rethink what is valuable.

Today, what companies consider to be their most valuable asset cannot be held in their hands. It is the information generated by the collection of billions of bits of data.

Companies are treating the internet as a big data warehouse and using data mining techniques to gather data not only on existing customers, but also on potential customers (To learn more about what is data mining, read our article on the subject).

Data mining tools allow companies to learn more about customers, competitors, compare prices and even find new customers and sales targets. 

Types of data in business

Information flows in and out of a company in many different directions. The type of data a company collects is informed by a company's goals and objectives. Computer systems can collect a wide variety of data about the world around us. Companies must decide what kind of data they need to inform their business decisions and then determine where and how this data can be collected. The types of data that companies collect can be divided into 5 broad categories: business process, observations of the physical world, biological data, public data and personal data.

• Business process data:

To remain competitive, companies must find ways to increase efficiency while maintaining quality standards for their products, goods and services. To continuously improve their operations, companies collect data on their business processes. 

This data can range from collecting data on the number of days it takes your customers to pay their invoices to the time it takes to assemble and package a product. To collect this kind of data, many companies use enterprise resource planning systems, including ERP systems. Another source is Point of Sale (POS) systems.  

• Observations of the physical world:

Technology has made it possible for companies to capture real-time data about the physical world. This data is collected through the use of devices such as radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless remote cameras, GPS, sensor technology and wireless access points. By inserting computer chips into almost any object, companies are able to track the movements of that item and, in some cases, control the object. 

• Biological data:

If you have a newer smartphone, you can unlock your phone simply by looking at the screen. This is possible thanks to facial recognition software. Unlocking your laptop with your fingerprint is another example of biological data available to companies. Although things like voice and face recognition, retinal scans and biometric signatures are currently used mainly for security purposes, it may be possible in the future for this type of data to enable the personalization of products and services.

• Public data:

Companies have an almost infinite source of freely available data from public sources. Every time you connect to the internet, use instant messaging or send emails, an electronic footprint is left behind. For the time being, this data is considered "public" and companies collect, share and even sell this type of data every day. 

In Brazil, the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) to protect users from the misuse of this data. To find out more about the law, visit our article.

• Personal details:

As well as data that is considered "public", as we use technology, we provide a large amount of personal data that companies can use to reveal a lot about our personal preferences, habits, hobbies, likes and dislikes. For example, Facebook uses information that people provide - such as age, gender and interests - to target ads at a specific audience. Advertisers tell Facebook which demographics they want to reach and then the social media giant places the ads in related accounts. 

Data and your company

The volume of data available to companies continues to increase exponentially and as more and more data becomes available, the collection, storage and analysis of this data becomes increasingly complex.

It is abundantly clear that data, and therefore information, is used by many companies to gain a competitive advantage, with the aim of making their products or services superior to other options on the market. The question is: is your company already able to translate the data you collect efficiently?

4KST has the best predictive modeling solutions that will turn the data you collect into crucial information for the growth of your business.

To find out more, contact us!