In God we trust; all others bring data. This witticism,
attributed to Edward Deming, stands as a motto for a
variety of data-driven activities, starting with
manufacturing quality and extending from leaders in
business intelligence (BI) to laggards. Many
conventional business enterprises and industries are
collecting substantial, high-quality data about their
individual and aggregate customers, products and market
dynamics. Those enterprises that actually look at and
know how to use the data are playing a different game at
a more advanced level than those still relying on gut
feel alone. 2007
