In a buzz-word heavy industry, there is a lot of confusion around the difference between Data Management and Information Management. After all, isn't data information? Well, yes and no.

What is Data?
Wikipedia defines data as: "The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. "

Data is more than one such attribute value. Is data information? Yes, information is provided by data but only because data is always specified in some abstract setting. The setting includes:

• The class to which the attribute belongs
  
• The object which is a member of that class
  
• Some ideas about object operations or behavior, and relationships to other objects and classes.

What is Information?
Wikipedia defines Information as: "A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn; "statistical data" or data as processed, stored, or transmitted." Information is data extracted, cleansed, or transformed and presented to draw insights.

Data is often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which information and then knowledge are derived.

Information Management vs. Data Management
Information Management is defined as a program that manages the people, processes and technology in an enterprise towards the control over the structure, processing, delivery and usage of information required for management and business intelligence purposes.

Information, as we know it today, includes both electronic and physical information. The organizational structure must be capable of managing this information throughout the information lifecycle regardless of source or format (data, paper documents, electronic documents, audio, video, etc.) for delivery through multiple channels that may include cell phones and web interfaces.

Data Management is a subset of Information Management. It comprises all the disciplines related to managing data as a valuable resource. Data management is the process involved in creating, obtaining, transforming, sharing, protecting, documenting and preserving data.

The official definition provided by DAMA International, the professional organization for those in the data management profession, is: "Data Resource Management is the development and execution of architectures, policies, practices and procedures that properly manage the full data lifecycle needs of an enterprise."

Data Management includes everything from file naming conventions to policies and practices on creating metadata and documentation for the long term. Data Management ensures data that underlies an organization is available, accurate, complete, and secure. Architectures, policies, practices, and procedures that manage the full data lifecycle are developed and executed.

Conclusion
Why is it important to delineate the difference between information management and data management? So what?

First, we get this question a lot from our clients. People want to be sure they are understanding the hot topics and determining the value to their organizations. Second, as organizations become aware that they need to treat data a corporate asset, make decisions based on facts, provide insight and therefore drive action and enhance their customer/client experiences, information and data strategies need to be comprehensive.

An understanding of information management vs. data management will allow organizations to identify gaps in their approaches and create a foundation that will drive to high quality data and therefore accurate information for decision-making. Having a broad, holistic view is paramount, even when addressing these issues incrementally.

Do you have both an Information Management and a Data Management program? How do you synchronize the two? How do you differentiate the two? I'd love to hear your input.