grammatical number - Is the word "data" now considered singular? If so, what about "datum"?

I know that the singular of data is datum. I know that data is a plural.

However, common usage of the word "data" suggests it is used as a "collection of data".

Here is [the collection of] data.

In which case, is the word data now a singular again, or still the plural? If so, what is the correct use of the word data and datum now?

Answer

There are two conflicting usages. For example, a Google search for "the data suggest" returns 10,000,000 results, but a search for "the data suggests" still returns almost 2,000,000 hits.

Wiktionary says:

data uncountable or plural noun
1. Plural form of datum: pieces of information.
2. (uncountable, collectively) information.
3. A collection of object-units that are distinct from one another.

Usage notes

This word is more often used as an uncountable noun with a singular verb than as a plural noun, with singular datum.

Merriam-Webster says:

Definition

1: factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation is plentiful and easily available — H. A. Gleason, Jr.> have been published — N. H. Jacoby>

[...]

Usage Discussion

Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions: as a plural noun (like earnings), taking a plural verb and plural modifiers (as these, many, a few) but not cardinal numbers, and serving as a referent for plural pronouns; and as an abstract mass noun (like information), taking a singular verb and singular modifiers (as this, much, little), and being referred to by a singular pronoun. Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, perhaps because the house style of some publishers mandates it.

Emphasis mine.