Data – You’re Actually What Makes the World Turn

Dear Data,

Remember that time we went on a whirlwind tour around the globe? In just a few weeks, we visited so many historical places. We met so many interesting people. And we ate so much delicious food!  

My favorite times were riding high-speed trains in Europe, talking to local health professionals in Australia, and visiting those strange new mines in South America with that one quirky maintenance crew who wouldn’t stop offering us donuts and coffee – lol. You taught me many things about how the “real world” works and how your influence shapes different industries. 

What I thought was just a dusty machine pushing dirt was really a creator of terabytes of information across thousands of sensors controlling every physical aspect of the process.  It was producing real-time insight and advice to operators in far-off distances, where minor adjustments can be made to routes, speed, and efficiency. It is a real human-machine interface, all enabled by you! 

What I thought were just scans of broken bones printed and displayed on lightboxes were actually hundreds of complex 3D images that include hidden metadata of patients’ biographic, demographic and medical histories – all searchable via algorithms attempting to diagnose and create real-time and accurate prognoses across thousands of radiological records! Your collecting and sharing of critical information increased the life span of so many citizens. 

What I thought was just a pleasant ride through the countryside was, in reality, a full data center on wheels. With as much computing power as is needed to collect petabytes of information and onboard cameras to detect wear and tear on the rails, you were creating a much more precise action plan for maintenance crews across thousands of miles. Only you have the wherewithal to understand that it’s not just databases that have value; images and videos are required to solve the tough real-life problems. 

That trip, yet again, opened my eyes to the amazing value you provide to the world. It’s not just the stodgy IT work, helping people make better decisions on spreadsheets and dashboards (you know, the stuff that I do every day), but actually making a real-life difference in the everyday journeys of everyday people 

You are actually what makes the world turn.

Yours forever and ever.

Paul