Antarctic science is inter-disciplinary in character, multi-national in execution, and globally relevant. Data management in this environment must be examined from political, scientific and economic perspectives. The Antarctic Treaty calls on parties to exchange and make freely available scientific observations and results from Antarctica, so establishing the political context for addressing data management. The scientific context arises from the increasingly large and complex issues being addressed, including environmental monitoring and global change programmes, while the economic context considers data and information as the primary assets derived from Antarctic expenditure.