Fig. 1.1.6 Textual and nontextual nonrepetitive data.

Textual data are that data that are embodied in the form of text. An obvious example is e-
mail or contract data. An e-mail is nothing but text, and a contract is nothing but text.
Nonrepetitive nontextual data might be the picture an insurance adjuster takes of a car
after it has been in an accident. Or the real estate agent may make a video tape of a
house that is for sale.

The Different Forms of Data

The basic divisions of data that are shown in Fig. 1.1.6 are important for a lot of reasons.
Each of the divisions of data requires their own infrastructure, their own technology, and
their own treatment. Even though all forms of data exist in the same corporation, each of
the forms of data may as well exist on different planets. They simply require their own
treatment and their own unique infrastructure.

Business Value

There are then many reasons for the different treatment of the different forms of data.
But perhaps the most salient reason for the difference in the forms of data is the
relationship to business value.

Fig. 1.1.7 shows that there is a very different relationship to business value across the
different forms of data.

Chapter 1.1: An Introduction to Data Architecture