What do we mean by data?

In this video you will hear from people representing a range of sectors talking about what data means to them.

Data means different things to different people. Essentially, data is information. It is generally defined as a collection of facts and observations related to a particular question or problem. Any data you are collecting is information, and any information you are collecting is data.

Regardless of your business’ field of operation or size, data can have an increasing impact on your business in several ways. The idea is simple: If you own or operate a business You have data. This data is an asset you can use to improve your business. Data can thus help organisations make better decisions faster.

What range & volume of data do I need?

Data, from a tourism perspective, can vary greatly. The information you can collect ranges from small microtransactions, such as what items people are ordering off the breakfast menu, all the way through to macro data where we’re looking at the entire country, e.g. understanding the percentage of increase in Chinese visitors to Scotland.

When viewed through the lens of a specific business context, data can provide valuable insights: for example, determining what should be on or come off the breakfast menu to avoid waste, or recognising that you need to train your staff to speak more than one language and understand cultural differences of the new tourists visiting. You need to think about what is meaningful to your business and choose data appropriately.