For enterprises, data is more valuable than ever before. However, not all data is created equal. Unstructured data—information that doesn’t fit neatly into traditional databases—can be a significant challenge for organizations. This type of data includes emails, videos, audio files, documents, social media posts, and much more. Unlike structured data, which is easily stored, retrieved, and analyzed in a standardized format, unstructured data is often difficult to manage and utilize effectively.
So, what should you do with your old and/or unstructured data? And why does it matter? Let’s dive into the reasons why properly handling unstructured data can significantly benefit your business.
Know What Data You Have to Make Better Decisions
The first step is understanding exactly what you have. It’s easy for companies to accumulate vast amounts of data over time, but much of it remains unorganized and unstructured. When data is not classified properly, it can be hard to determine its value, relevance, or risks.
By taking stock of your unstructured data, you’ll be better positioned to make informed, strategic decisions. Whether you’re analyzing historical trends, preparing for regulatory compliance, or simply aiming to improve operational efficiency, knowing what you have will help you determine the best course of action. Identifying and classifying your data will give you a good outline of what you have (See: Enterprise Insights).
AI Governance: Messy Data Yields Poor Results
One of the most important reasons to focus on your unstructured data is AI governance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) relies on high-quality data to deliver accurate and actionable insights. If your data is messy, outdated, or incomplete, your AI algorithms won’t perform as effectively.
Unstructured data is particularly challenging for AI models, but it can also provide valuable insights if properly managed. By cleaning, categorizing, and organizing your data, you’ll ensure that your AI models are trained on the best possible inputs, leading to improved outcomes. This can help your organization stay competitive, adapt to changing market conditions, and make smarter decisions based on data-driven insights (See: AI Governance).
Improving Company Efficiencies Through Data Organization
Efficient data management isn’t just about saving time; it’s about creating workflows that drive better outcomes. Data can often be disorganized, scattered across various departments, and difficult to search. This hinders daily efficiency.
By investing time and resources into organizing your unstructured data, you’ll create more streamlined processes that reduce bottlenecks and ensure that employees have the right information at their fingertips. This leads to faster decision-making, improved collaboration, and ultimately, greater overall productivity. Using a platform with centralized management and automated policies to take action is a good solution for improving efficiency (See: Comply360).
Storage Costs and Optimization: Don’t Waste Your Budget
Another key reason to address your unstructured data is to optimize storage costs. Storing vast amounts of unstructured data on traditional storage systems can become expensive and inefficient over time. As data accumulates, so do storage expenses.
Tiering storage is a great way to optimize your budget. By categorizing your data based on its importance and usage frequency, you can store the most critical data in high-performance storage solutions while relegating less important data to lower-cost storage. This allows you to make better use of your resources and reduce unnecessary costs (See: Storage and Backup Optimization).
Compliance and Risk Management
Unstructured data can also present significant legal and regulatory risks, especially when it comes to legal hold. If your company is involved in a lawsuit, investigation, or audit, you may be required to retain certain data to comply with legal obligations.
Keeping unstructured data that’s no longer relevant could lead to unnecessary legal liabilities. On the flip side, failing to retain important data could result in hefty fines or loss of critical evidence. By having a structured approach to managing this data, you can ensure that you’re complying with legal requirements and protecting your company from potential risks (See: Comply360).
The Less You Have, The Less They Get
Cybersecurity is another critical factor. In the event of a data breach or cyberattack, having excessive amounts of unstructured data can increase your vulnerability. The more data you store, the more valuable a target you become.
By taking a proactive approach to managing your unstructured data, you can minimize the potential fallout from an attack. Less data means fewer assets for cybercriminals to steal, and less sensitive information that could be exposed. If you don’t need certain data, it’s best to dump it.
For data that must be retained, you can lock it down with strong security measures. Even for data that you don’t access frequently, consider tiering it into lower-cost, secure storage options, so it’s still protected but not taking up valuable resources (See: Improve Your Data Security Posture).
Time to Tackle Unstructured Data
Even enterprises that have comprehensive structured data solutions often still face the challenge of managing unstructured data. In many cases, unstructured data can comprise the majority of the data within an organization, making it crucial to address.
The process of managing unstructured data, whether through categorization, cleaning, storage optimization, or security measures, is no longer optional—it’s a strategic business decision. Companies that invest in proper data management stand to gain in terms of efficiency, security, cost savings, and regulatory compliance.
So, take a step back, assess the data you have, and start making smart decisions about what to keep, what to delete, and how to store it. The right approach will not only improve your organization’s overall performance but also protect it from unnecessary risks in an increasingly data-driven world. If you would like to learn more about what to do with your unstructured data, reach out to the team at Congruity360: here.
