Data is the driving force behind the development of many modern and advance technologies. The term data was derived from Latin word datum which translates as something given. Data is defined as unanalyzed, unorganized, unrelated and uninterrupted used in different contexts. An example of data can be the facts and stats collected by a researcher for an analysis is called data.

Term information comes from Middle or Old French times, which meant act of informing. Information is defined as the analyzed, organized and structured form of data that is useful. Information is the refined form of data; we can define it as data gathered to obtain meaningful results.

Key Differences between Data and Information

Sr. No.DataInformation
 The unrefined and unorganized facts which are needed to be processed in order to make them meaningful are termed as data.The set of useful, processed, and meaningful data which is according to the given requirements is termed as information.
 They are the qualitative or quantitative variables which helps to develop ideas or inferences.It is basically a group of data which carry news and meanings.
 It does not have any specific purpose.It depicts the meaning which is obtained by interpreting data.
 It does not harbor any real and beneficial meaning.Information provides insights and meanings.
 Data is basically collected statistics.Information is processed statistics.
 It has all the basic statistics required for analysis.Data with context is known as the information.
 It does not have any significance if stated alone.Information itself is very significant.
 Data does not depend on the information. Instead it depends on the sources for collecting data.Information depend on the data.
 Data comes in a form of sets or numbers.Information come as ideas or thoughts.
 Bits and bytes are used to measure the data.Information is measured in significant and meaningful units like time, quantity, etc.
 It can be structured as a  tabular data, data tree, or graph.Information is predicted ideas, language, and thoughts taken from the given data.
 It is not enough to be used in decision making.It can be used in decision making.
 One can easily understand it as a low level knowledge.One can easily understand it as a second level of knowledge.
 Data is not available at any store or online website.Information can be seen anywhere.
 Data is usually not accessible by a common man.Information is usually easily accessible by a common man.
 Data is obtained by records and observations which are stored on a hard drive or remembered by a particular person.On the opposite, information is considered more reliable than data. Researchers use information to conduct their researches and do a proper analysis.
 Data which is collected by researchers may or may not be useful.On the other hand, information is available to the researchers and they use it according to their needs.
 Data is never collected and designed according to the needs of the users.On contrary, information is always specified according to the expectations and needs of the user because all irrelevant and unnecessary facts and figures are removed during the transformation process.
 There are two types of data: Primary dataQualitative dataQuantitative dataSecondary dataExternal data Internal data  There are four types of information: FactualAnalyticalSubjectiveObjective

Importance of Data and Information in Business

Data and information are crucial for every field; they have great significance in information systems, the medical field, and more. The most important role of data and information is in business; it benefits companies in many different ways.

The data may not be informative, but it is the basis of all the crucial decisions of the business. Data is facts and statistics that are assembled during business operations. They can be records, internal and external business activities. Moreover, the facts and stats about customer interaction, number of jobs, enquiries, income earned, expenses etc are also data.

Information is one of the building blocks; it enables the management to make educated decisions from the presented data. Information can determine the loss or profit of the business. 

Future of Data and Information

Data is increasing rapidly, and it will keep on growing at a relatively faster pace. All the researches show a steep data chart. It will increase with great speed and will be stored in cloud storage.

Fast data will get more and more popular because of its extreme processing speed that analyzes the data in milliseconds. Fast processing is excellent for big organizations; it enables them to make immediate, informed decisions.

Data Security and Privacy is a major problem and will remain a bigger issue in future. Immensely growing data volume will create more challenges; there will be more cyberattacks because data growth is outclassing data protection. Another good thing for the future is that data scientists will be in high demand due to increasing data volume.

FAQs

What are the examples of data and information?

Example of data can be weights, prices, costs, employee names, addresses etc. While information is Time Table, result cards, pay slips etc.

Why is information important?

Information is very important because it improves the decision-making ability. Moreover, it helps the company grow and compete.

How to manage data and information?

You can follow these steps for effective data and information management.

  • Set your business goals.
  • Keep data protection on top.
  • Focus on data quality and reduce redundancy.
  • Make sure that data is easy to access and create a data recovery strategy.

Final words

Information science and technology has become more refined. It has generated traction potential in terms of technological transition: from servers to the cloud to smarter databases. Now data can be processed in the blink of an eye. With speed, comes the ability to process data even with low-cost hardware drives like SSDs (Solid State Drives), HDDs (Hard Drives) and cloud services. Organizations now archive heaps of data in the hopes of processing it for information that can help them guide organizational decisions or predict the future reliability of their products or services in the market. Even medical science, education, and space programs data and information to solve real life problems.