WHAT OILTEACHES USABOUT BIG DATA

Data offers a business opportunity, assuming that your organization can tap into that resource and put it to productive use.

In order to do that, you need to identify quality sources of data and know how to refine that data to meet the specific needs of your company.

In that way, the process for finding and refining oil can teach us a lot about how to exploit the new natural resource in enterprises: data.

Manufacturing oil is a multistage process, involving a variety of different tools and complex considerations. Each step in the process is critical to the next step. Otherwise, the quality of the end product will be diminished or, worst case, unusable.

Here we look at the seven major steps in manufacturing oil and how they relate to exploiting data.

1Exploration

Without finding oil sands or another source of crude and petroleum, the process can never begin. Petroleum is most often found in areas of porous rock. Once petroleum has been located, it’s important to do some test drilling to ensure that more drilling will be productive.

1 Exploration

Similarly, data can be anywhere in the organization or available from external sources (some in the public domain and others from fee-based services). Leaders in the Data era will explore beyond the obvious places, looking for new data assets which can be utilized for competitive advantage.

1 Exploration

DrillinG

2

2 DrillinGDrilling for oil requires a rotary drill and insertion of a pipe. Typically, petroleum will be thousands of feet deep into the rock, so a drill must be able to penetrate deeply.

2 DrillinGOnce data is located, the right tools must be in place to access the data. But, it’s more than just tools; it’s the approach, the methodology, and the techniques to ensure that the effort will yield results.

3rEcovEry

3 rEcovEryrEcovEryrEcovEryAfter drilling, pipes and valves are installed into the rock to enable the proper extraction of the crude oil. These pipes are connected to a recovery system which separates the oil and gas.

3 rEcovEryrEcovEryrEcovEryLikewise, once data is located and accessed, there must be a strategy to recover and extract the data. From that point, the data can be moved to the right part of the organization.

4Distillation

4 DistillationFractional distillation is the process of removing gasoline from other compounds in the crude oil. It’s the process of heating crude oil, letting it vaporize, and then condensing the vapor prior to the refining process.

4 DistillationJust like consuming tainted oil will prevent an automobile from running, consuming poor-quality data can cripple an organization. Before it can be refined, the data must be distilled—detecting and fixing errors and missing values—to ensure that it can be used.

5rEFininG

5 rEFininGFractional distillation is the process of removing gasoline from other compounds in the crude oil. It’s the process of heating crude oil, letting it vaporize, and then condensing the vapor prior to the refining process.

5 rEFininGJust like consuming tainted oil will prevent an automobile from running, consuming poor-quality data can cripple an organization. Before it can be refined, the data must be distilled—detecting and fixing errors and missing values—to ensure that it can be used.

6aDDitivEs

6 aDDitivEsaDDitivEsaDDitivEsChemicals are added to oil to ensure performance of the finished product. This will help extend the life of gas engines and ensure optimal operation.

6 aDDitivEsaDDitivEsaDDitivEsData can be enriched too, either with third-party data or simply through human-aided curation. This enhances the value of the asset.

7transportinG

7 transportinGThe last step in the oil manufacturing process is about ensuring that the finished product is delivered to a location where it can be consumed.

7 transportinGData must also be in the right place at the right time in order to impact an organization. This puts a premium on the transportation and application of data across an organization.

Organizations that have the ability to tap into data as their primary natural resource will drive competitive advantage versus their peer group. That is the data opportunity. Leading organizations will exploit that opportunity by drawing parallels from the oil refining steps.

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BiG Data rEvolutionroB thomas & patrick mcsharry