In a recent editorial titled “The Philosophy of Data,”New York Times columnist David Brooks discusses how the use of data will make society less reliant on intuition, while making us aware of previously hidden behavior patterns.

“In sum,” he writes,“the data revolution is giving us wonderful ways to understand the present and the past. Will it transform our ability to predict and make decisions about the future? We’ll see.”

But, of course, you already know the answer to that question.

The question isn’t whether data has the power to be predictive, but how to obtain reliable data.

In the past, survey tools weren’t focused on data integrity. Rather, they allowed you to quickly collect large amounts of data without guaranteeing dependable results. Like a fisherman casting a wide net, collecting trash and declaring it trout, corrupt data is useless no matter what you call it.

Data’s true value rests in what it accurately tells us about the past or the future — and unreliable data tells us nothing.

Sogolytics’s platform helps you maintain data integrity, while providing a powerful reporting tool that allows you to draw actionable conclusions.

As the Obama campaign illustrated during the 2012 election, the data revolution is already here.Like other smart organizations and companies, the campaign realized the true philosophy of data is founded on one word: reliability.