You've likely heard of BigData and even experienced BigData. It is the overwhelming data dump intended to inform but instead leads too frequently to confusion. Why is this? Without question we have more data available to us today than ever before in history. Not only do we have more data, but the rate at which data is delivered is profound and unprecedented as well as in many cases, data is delivered in near-real time.

This is a problem, first, because these data are raw; they normally have not been assessed for quality (cf., quality assurance or quality control) or accuracy, and frequently come from non-authoritative sources. The second and larger consideration is the data being delivered is just that, data. It is not information.

The very definition of information is that it informs, helps to answer questions, or aids in making a decision. Data alone, by its very defintion cannot do that. Pairing the need for information with the term actionable really brings all this into clarity. Decision makers need actionable information and at no other time in human history has this been as apparent as it is today.