An ecosystem is defined as a complex set of relationships between interconnected elements and their environments. For example, the social construct around our daily lives is an ecosystem. We depend on the state to provide us with basic necessities, including food, water, and gas. We rely on our local stores for our daily needs, and so on. Our livelihood is directly or indirectly dependent upon the social construct of our society. The inter-dependency, as well as the inter-connectivity of these social elements, is what defines a society.

Along the same lines, a data ecosystem can be defined as a complex set of possibly interconnected data and the environment from which that data originates. Data from social websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; data from connected devices, such as sensors; data from the (Industrial) Internet of Things; SCADA systems; data from your phone; and data from your home router, all constitute a data ecosystem to some extent. As we will see in the following sections, this huge variety of data, when connected, can be really useful in providing insights into previously undiscovered business opportunities.