IN this digital age, some observers have taken to calling data the 'new oil.' Its value is immense and considering the many touchpoints available to organizations for gathering data, there is an abundance to be mined. But, as with oil, data on its own is not worth much. Companies looking to profit off their data have to know how to extract, share, make sense of, and use it before they can create value. And there's the rub.

Despite all the technological advancements of the past decade, many organizations are still struggling with legacy systems and old ways of thinking that prevent them from capitalizing on their wealth of data. Take a look at insurance companies. The nature of their business gives them access to a rich trove but the prevailing practice is to treat and quantify data as a short-term expense managed for individual functions or projects.