The importance of data in analytics

How do you describe the importance of data in analytics? Can we think of analytics without data? Explain.
Considering the new and broad definition of business analytics, what are the main inputs and outputs to the analytics continuum?
Where do the data for business analytics come from? What are the sources and the nature of those incoming data?
What are the most common metrics that make for ­analytics-ready data?
Go to data.gov—a U.S. government–sponsored data portal that has a very large number of data sets on a wide variety of topics ranging from healthcare to education, climate to public safety. Pick a topic that you are most passionate about. Go through the topic-­specific information and explanation provided on the site. Explore the possibilities of downloading the data, and use your favorite data visualization tool to create your own meaningful information and visualizations.