Paper which discusses the notion that Data is NOT the "new Oil". We hear copious amounts said that Data is an asset, it's got to be managed, few people in the business understand it & so on. The phrase "Data is the new Oil" gets used many times, yet is rarely (if ever) justified. This paper is aimed to raise the level of debate from a subliminal nod to a conscious examination of the characteristics of different "assets" (particularly Oil) and to compare them with those of the 'Data asset". Written by Christopher Bradley, CDMP Fellow, VP Professional Development DAMA International & 38 years Information Management experience, much of it in the Oil & Gas industry.

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Data is NOT the “new” Oil …
The “Data Asset” is different
I presented a seminar at an event called “Data, the vital
organisation enabler” entitled “Information is at the Heart of
ALL of the Business”. During this I raised the question,
“Is the data asset really that different from other assets?”
We hear copious amounts said that Data is an asset, it's got to
be managed, few people in the business understands us and so
on.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to cast any doubt on the
importance of data as an asset, but I wanted to raise the level
of debate from a subliminal nod to a conscious examination of
the characteristics of different "assets" and to compare them
with the 'Data asset".
Is Data the new Oil?
But before I go on much further, I want to challenge the often-
heard statement “Data is the new Oil”. Having studied
Chemical Engineering at University and worked for 38 years in
Data Management, much of this in the Oil Industry (Aramco,
BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Statoil, Total to name a few), I now really
believe that Data is NOT the new Oil.
Sure, the catchy phrase may be trying to indicate that we have
a Data economy vs an Oil economy, or maybe it’s that Data is
the lubricant of modern business, or maybe that there are Data
“mega firms” that control much of our lives like the Oil mega-
firms. However, while it is likeable, the analogy risks spreading
misunderstanding on all counts.
We’ll see later in this paper a comparison between Data and
other Assets, but first let’s drill in deeper to Oil 😉 and look at
different characteristics of this Asset.
Supply: There is a fixed amount of oil on the Planet. We also
have Oil Shale, Oil Sands, Hydraulically Fractured Gas, Algae and
so on. So yes, there is still plenty remaining, and we certainly
haven’t discovered all of it yet. But without a doubt its supply
is finite. However, data is virtually limitless. Its sources and
provision are plentiful. So, thinking of Data “supply” it’s more
like sea-water than oil. In fact, there is so much of it that our
main worry is how to sensibly get value from it rather than how
to find it.
Copyable: Whilst we may be able to synthesise certain
lubricants (I run my race car with synthetic oil) Oil is not readily
copyable. However, as we know Data can be copied, and
copied, and copied (with all of the resultant Governance issues
that throws up), however the digital fidelity of the copy
remains constant.
Use depletes it: As a petrol head both my race-car and hot
road car have the unfortunate tendency to drink fuel whenever
I put my foot down. Not great mile per gallon, but with all that
power I get plenty of smiles per gallon. So, when the fuel is
used – it’s gone. Similarly, if we have Oil fields in the North Sea,
the licence owner will have control of the oil there, but once
it’s used up, it's gone.
Data however can used and used and used again. The use of
data doesn’t deplete it. Also, the same data can be used by
different people for different purposes (and without good Data
Management also leads to Governance issues).
Value: It is most certainly usual practice to give a value to oil
(the $70 barrel for example). The value of Oil is known on the
commodities markets and has a real, identifiable asset value.
The practice of giving a real monetary value to Data is relatively
immature (albeit growing). A small number of companies have
a P&L entry for “Value of Data” and this trend is increasing. It’s
in a similar position to where “Value of Goodwill” was on
Balance sheets 20+ years ago, yet now its common practice.
Process to Yield Value: Although as noted in “Value” above,
Oil has an established value, it is true that both data and Oil
need to be processed in order to yield something of greater
value than the raw base asset itself. With data, we have the
well-established data value chain (Data > Information >
Knowledge > Wisdom (Insight). With Oil the products that
emerge from processing can include Petrol, Diesel, Asphalt,
Tyres, Antiseptics, Refrigerant or Plastic.

2. 2 | P a g e
Control: Who controls the Asset? We hear constantly in the
press about identity theft, the use and abuse of personal data.
Indeed, there are even regulations that state how personal
data may be legitimately used – although that won’t deter
foreign powers trying to influence elections. Few people have
a clear understanding about the digital footprint they have left
online, a quick look at “what does Google know about me” will
probably shock many. Theoretically Data can be controlled by
the user. With Oil, who can remember the 3-day week & the
power that OPEC exerted on the world? With the Oil fields in
Alaska or the North Sea its mostly the Oil company who decides
how much to extract, how to process it, where to deploy I, how
much they sell it for and, who they sell it to. With my PII data
it’s up to me who I give it to and now there is even legislative
assistance to help you see what is held about you.
Speed of Innovation: Who can fail to be amazed at the speed
with which Data usage and Analytics has evolved and
innovated over the last 5 years. Reinvention and innovation
are key in Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and other large
data centric companies. Don’t get me wrong, the Oil industry
has innovated also, Directional Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing,
Bio Fuels to name a few, however the pace and the imperative
to do so is different.
The superficial notion that Data is the new Oil is unhelpful.
Although abundant, Oil supply is finite. Data is infinite. Oil
gave us material for the industrial economy. Data is pervasive
and powers a post-industrial economy. Data companies
increasingly influence, control, and often redefine, the nature
of our business and private lives, rather than power our cars,
planes, air-conditioning and central heating
Assets & their Characteristics
So, if Data is NOT the new Oil, how does it compare to other
assets? What are some of the characteristics of core assets in
the business? And, if as we all say data IS one of those key
assets, how, (if at all) do these characteristics differ in the "Data
asset" compared with other the other assets that we
frequently encounter in our organisations?
So, first let’s have a think about some other "assets"?
I have selected 7 other assets many of which are regularly seen
across a variety of businesses, and I have tried to compare
them with the "Data Asset".
The assets I've selected for this comparison are:
1. Oil
2. Money
3. Blood
4. People
5. Property
6. Materials
7. Intellectual Property (IP) and of course
8. Data.
The characteristics of the assets themselves required more
consideration.
After much thought and batting the notion around with others
I settled upon these 5 characteristics:
1. Is the asset Copyable, i.e. without resorting to the
realms of science fiction "replicator" machines
2. Does use of the asset in some way deplete it
3. Is it straightforward, and/or usual practice to ascribe a
monetary value to the asset
4. Is the asset a real tangible thing or an abstract concept
5. Does the asset have to be processed in some way to
yield value
Now I'm sure that I could have come up with further asset types
and asset characteristics, and I may well do so as this analysis
develops, but for now these are the ones that I start with.
Analysis
So, let's analyse these assets against the characteristics & see
what (if any) conclusions we can draw from it?
Oil
We have already discussed this in more detail earlier.

3. 3 | P a g e
Money
You cannot (legitimately) copy money. People with children
will probably have had the discussion that the ATM is not a
“money tree”. We can move money out of our possession
really easily with Apple Pay, Contactless cards etc, however
earning it in the first place isn’t so easy. Using money depletes
it, and naturally you give a value to money. It's mostly a real
concept being underpinned by Gold stock and doesn't have to
be "processed' to deliver value.
Blood
Blood isn't copyable in the mainstream (although as we speak
blood substitutes are being trialled) and use of it depletes it (it
must be re-cleaned & oxygenated after use). It's not too
difficult to ascribe a value to it, and it is a real concept. Finally,
it has to be processed by our organs to yield value.
People
People as we know them are not copyable (although biological
cloning is possible). I've said that use of people does not
deplete the resource as we can apply our skills & intellect many
many times. However, as we all know, people do age and limbs
and minds fade so perhaps this should be answered as "partly
true". It's not widespread practice to ascribe a monetary value
to a person except in a few cases (e.g. professional sportsmen).
People are real and without trying to get too philosophical,
they must do something to yield a value.
Property
Property such as buildings are not copyable. Sure, you can
have a plan for a building & use that several times, but it’s using
different bricks, is on a different site and so on. The Eiffel
Tower in China is a fake! Using a property does slowly erode
it, things wear out and need to be maintained. Property does
have value & it's usual practice to give it such. Property is a
real concept but doesn't have to be processed to generate
value.
Materials
So here I'm talking about raw materials. Again, without a sci-fi
replicator they are not copyable, and just like a match the act
of using them depletes them. Most materials have a monetary
value easily ascribed to them, for several that's the basis of the
commodities market. They are real not abstract things and
pretty much for the most part have to be processed to yield a
value.
Intellectual Property (IP)
IP is not legally copyable. IP thrives on being reused so is not
depleted by use. There is frequently a monetary value
allocated to IP and much like a thought or an idea it's mostly an
abstract concept. Finally, IP must be used (processed) to gain
real value from it.
Data
So, what about data; how does this stack up against the
different characteristics of these example asset? Data is
copyable; with digital media any number of copies can be taken
without the data being degraded. Using data does not erode it
or make it wear out. Sure, the relevance of the data may
decrease over time, but it does not wear out. Whilst there is
much talk about "monetizing" data, this is still not a
widespread practice, but will no doubt become some in the
future. Data is an abstract concept since its representing
something else. Data needs to be utilised by processes to have
value (and conversely processes must have data to operate
upon).
IS the data asset REALLY different?
Having looked at these 8 different assets, and the 5
characteristics is there anything that jumps out at us?
If we look for assets which have the same values of
characteristics as those for the “Data Asset” then we're going
to be disappointed.
Of the 5 characteristics, 3 of the assets (Money, Property and
Materials) have zero common values with Data.
2 of assets (Oil and Blood) have one common characteristic
value shared with "Data".
Intellectual Property (IP) has two common characteristics.
Heading the pack with three common characteristics is the
People asset.
It's interesting to note though, that there aren't any of the
assets that share 4 let alone 5 of the characteristics as we see
in Data.

4. 4 | P a g e
Summary
1. Information IS different to the other assets that we
encounter;
2. ALL the business depends on Information;
3. The quality and management of information can affect
the very existence of an organisation; and
4. You ignore Information Management at your peril.
Thus, it is probably reasonable to conclude that:
The Data Asset IS different to other business assets that we
encounter.
Furthermore, as described in my white paper all the business
depends upon data for its wellbeing.
Unfortunately, we still encounter organisations where the
various disciplines of Information Management are not
understood (or more frighteningly are knowingly not
addressed).
Indeed, Professor Joe Peppard (Principal Research Scientist at
MIT Sloan School of Management) wrote
"The very existence of an organisation can be
threatened by poor data quality.”
So yes, if as we suggest here that it is different, then the
management of the data asset requires specific skills and
capabilities; enter the Information Professional.
Wise organisations are realising that Information really IS a
vital asset, it IS worthy of being managed professionally, and
yes, it IS different.
Author: Christopher Bradley is an Independent Information Strategist. With 38
years’ experience in the Information Management area, Chris and his team
provide strategy, advisory and training services to help organisations increase
their Information management capabilities across all the core Information
disciplines. You can follow Chris on Twitter as @inforacer and via his blog.