Insight is a crucial part of any business. Essentially, the base definition of insight refers to gaining an understanding or knowledge of something. In business, that something is traditionally data, like market research, expert theories, marketing strategies, and more. Now it should be mentioned that data along is into insight. Insight is specifically used to break down information in order to solve a problem. For those familiar with the ultra-popular role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, a player may roll an insight check in order to decipher whether information they have gained from a source is reliable, as an example.
Organizations will use commonly do research and find hard data they can extrapolate a pattern from in order to answer questions related to the initial focus. The information is then used to generate further intelligence and make critical steps towards an ultimate decision. If the information has failed to generate steps towards the solution of a problem, even if it is not ultimately used, then it has failed to provide or classify as insight.