I have defined the data asset as the intangible, off-the-books asset that represents the enterprise’s ability to extract value from its data. It is a complex asset that includes the data itself, its fitness-to-purpose and cleanliness or quality, its accessibility to employees who want to analyze or use it, the tools that are available to analyze it, the privacy and security safeguards that surround it, and the organizational policies and structures that affect its use. We often speak of data as having a value, but really it is not the data per se, it is the agility with which the data can be used to accomplish strategic objectives.
— War and Peace and IT: Glossary, Mark Schwartz