There’s a long-standing view in our industry, popularised by the DMBoK, that data is an asset.
It’s an attractive idea – assets are valuable, they sit on the balance sheet, and they feel solid and dependable.
But here’s the problem: treating data as an asset risks making it static. An asset is something you own – a server, a piece of software, a reactor.
Data is different. It’s not something you simply hold onto; it’s something you use, transform, and consume to create something else.
In other words: data is a resource.
And just like crude oil, it’s only valuable once it’s refined into something people can actually use. As the image shows, one resource can produce many different products – gasoline, diesel, kerosene, fuel oil – each serving a different purpose. Data works the same way: from one source, we create a variety of products – dashboards, risk reports, predictive models – each tailored to meet specific business needs.
Crude oil is refined into multiple valuable products — just as data can be refined into different information products for the business.
Data / Resource
In the DAMA framework, areas like Data Modelling & Design, and Data Architecture reflect the design of data as a resource – much like defining the structure of molecules and the blueprint of a refinery that will process them.
Data is constantly flowing: from transactions, customer interactions, documents, operational systems, and more. It isn’t stored once and forgotten – it travels through processes and changes form as it goes.
Like crude oil entering a refinery, data moves through containers, pumps, and transformations until it becomes something useful.
Before data enters a warehouse or analytics platform, it must be:
- Structured and modelled
- Governed with clear rules and ownership
- Checked for accuracy and completeness
- Managed so it is available in the right format, at the right time
Without consistent quality checks, your “refinery” produces products that fail the end-user.
Information / Product
The business doesn’t use raw data directly – it consumes information products that are timely, accurate, and relevant.
These products might come from:
- Data warehouses
- Transactional systems like CRMs, ERPs, or point-of-sale platforms
- Financial and operational systems
- Integrated datasets after an acquisition
The people creating these products are data analysts, data scientists, and reporting teams. They transform the refined resource into something the business can act on – sales dashboards, risk reports, predictive models, customer segmentations.
You don’t fill your car with crude oil – you fill it with refined fuel.
Likewise, executives and managers need information that’s designed for decision-making, not raw tables.
Technology / Asset
Technology assets are the machines of the refinery: databases, APIs, ETL platforms, cloud environments, security frameworks – maybe even your shiny new Databricks deployment.
The business often gets excited about the next big platform or tool. That’s fine – technology assets are essential for producing information products. But they are not the resource itself.
They are the infrastructure that allows the resource to flow and be refined.
Why ‘Data is a Resource’ Works Better Than ‘Data is an Asset’
Calling data an asset implies it has an obvious price tag that defines its value.
But with data, the real value lies in the information products it enables:
- Dashboards that guide investment decisions
- Reports that measure performance
- Analytics that uncover new opportunities
- Integrated datasets that support post-acquisition migrations
Data professionals work with subject matter experts across the business to identify the most important data for integration, reporting, and decision-making.
Treating data as a resource captures its dynamic nature – it must be replenished, managed, and refined to keep creating value.
Assets (technology) and products (information) both depend on the continual quality and flow of that resource.
The takeaway
The refinery doesn’t exist without crude oil, and crude oil is useless without the refinery. In the same way, the business needs both the resource (data) and the assets (technology) – but the greatest value comes when the resource is transformed into products that help the business decide, act, and grow.
Alexandra Wiebe
Data Management Consultant
CDMP Associate
