In the modern economy, treating information as a business asset—often referred to as Infonomics—is no longer a theoretical concept but a competitive necessity. Unlike physical assets, information is “non-rivalrous,” meaning it can be used by multiple departments simultaneously without being depleted.
To manage it effectively, organizations must shift from seeing data as a storage cost to viewing it as a value driver.
The Framework for Information Asset Management
Managing information requires a structured approach similar to how a CFO manages capital or a COO manages inventory.
1. Data Governance and Quality
Asset value is tied directly to reliability. Poor data quality leads to “garbage in, garbage out” scenarios in automated decision-making. High-value information assets must be accurate, timely, and accessible.
Business Example: Walmart uses a sophisticated data ecosystem to track every item's journey. By maintaining high-quality real-time data, they optimize their global supply chain, reducing "out-of-stock" occurrences and minimizing waste.
2. Monetization and Value Creation
Information can be monetized internally (improving processes) or externally (creating new revenue streams).
- Internal Monetization: Shell uses data from sensors on its deep-sea valves. By applying predictive analytics, they can anticipate maintenance needs before a failure occurs, saving millions in potential downtime and environmental risk.
- External Monetization: John Deere transitioned from a hardware manufacturer to a data service provider. Their “See & Spray” technology collects data from fields, which is then processed to provide farmers with precision agriculture insights, creating a new subscription-based revenue model.
3. Risk Management and Security
Just as a factory requires insurance and security, information assets require robust cybersecurity and compliance frameworks (like GDPR or CCPA). The “liability” side of the information balance sheet includes the risk of breaches or misuse.
Business Example: Following a massive data breach in 2017, Equifax had to fundamentally restructure its approach to information management. This served as a global lesson that failing to protect information assets can lead to massive devaluations of a company's market cap.
Measuring Information Value
While accounting standards (like GAAP) don’t yet allow companies to put data on the official balance sheet, smart organizations use internal metrics to value their information:
| Valuation Method | Description |
| Cost Value | What it costs to acquire, manage, and store the data. |
| Market Value | What the data could be sold for to third parties. |
| Economic Value | How much the data contributes to revenue or cost savings (e.g., $X saved via better marketing targeting). |
Strategic Implementation
To treat information as an asset, a business must:
- Appoint Leadership: Establish roles like a Chief Data Officer (CDO) to oversee the asset’s lifecycle.
- Invest in Infrastructure: Use cloud-native environments that allow for scalable data processing.
- Foster a Data Culture: Ensure that employees at all levels understand that data entry and analysis are part of their fiduciary responsibility to the company.
Business Example: Netflix leverages its information asset—user viewing habits—to decide which original content to greenlight. Their decision to produce "House of Cards" wasn't a creative "hunch"; it was a calculated move based on data showing a high overlap between fans of the original British series, fans of director David Fincher, and fans of lead actor Kevin Spacey.