Data is now more valuable than oil.
Data is now more valuable than oil, so product teams need to treat it that way. Ian Finn sets out three questions every data field should answer, and why trust is built into how teams work.
Data has become one of the most discussed topics in business. It drives more reliable, unified views of customers as they move through a brand’s ecosystem. It helps tell whether the visitor is a human or a bot. It is also now used to train AI systems. It is a valuable commodity, and many people say it is now more valuable than oil.
I read that line recently, and it has stuck with me. We all know what oil has become, yet many product teams still gather data without asking why they hold it, how long they keep it, or what it is for from the customer’s side.
At Product Economics’ recent Secure by Design webinar, I argued that trust in data is an output of how a team works, not just a policy document. Three questions I’d put to any data field:
Why do we hold it?
When does it expire?
What does the customer think it’s for?
The clip below is a short sneak peek of the full session. The complete recording drops on Monday 26 October 2026.
In an age when data serves many purposes, including training AI systems, I believe product teams asking the key questions about customer data has never been more critical. Privacy and trust run through the whole series, and these were the themes I most wanted to explore.
Thank you, Rebecca Fairlamb, for hosting and asking the questions that matter most in this area.