Unstructured Data Analytics – A Discovery Beyond the Surface

 

Understanding the importance of unstructured data in data analytics and the benefits it has to offer


Almost every industry is now aware of the value of data analysis in decision-making, hiring, employee retention, training and development, and other areas. For which businesses collect and analyze a plethora of data.


Then there is the data that is not being used, processed, or analyzed; the massive iceberg data that lurks in the shadows and hides beneath the surface, gathering risk and sleeping on missed business opportunities; the unorganized, untapped, unprotected, and unknown data that most organizations inevitably have but do not know they do – the unstructured data.


The challenges

Unstructured data, also known as dark data, are frequently collected alongside purpose-driven data containing sensitive, personal, regulated, or high-risk information that must be kept out of the wrong hands. And this massive iceberg of data – almost 80% in most cases – actively raises security risks by simply being in a company's system, undetected, and without the proper controls in place – often for a prolonged period. Furthermore, since the data is unknown, it is also exempt from the regulatory processes that a corporation would ordinarily implement to ensure compliance. And simultaneously, malicious attackers see this dark data as ripe for the taking since it is mostly overlooked.


The possible benefits

However, this untapped, unstructured data may also include significant information that businesses might use for insight if they only knew it existed, what it contained, and how to find and use it. Companies might spend millions of dollars gathering or analyzing new data to draw insights from relevant data they already have in the form of unstructured data, or they could use proper file analysis software to explore it.


Unstructured data delivers a complete data story

Unstructured data can give valuable insights to help your company fill in the gaps and develop services that address client demands. It is simpler to innovate with new features when firms understand what customers want and how to present goods, services, or technology they fail to provide. Another advantage that firms gain from acquiring and unstructured analytics of data is the capacity to spot the gaps within the organization amongst departments and the proper steps needed to fill them.


Unstructured data improves customer experience

Furthermore, you will need unstructured data to figure out what your consumers are saying on social media, how they react to your email marketing efforts, and their general thoughts. Structured data may provide you with information such as client age, birthdays, gender, total sales, and other privacy compliance data, but unstructured data is required to understand your customers beyond that. When your company has this information, you will see increased client happiness and return on investment.


Unstructured data paves the way for advanced business innovation

Unstructured data can include text files, email content, social media, website, mobile, media, information from business apps, etc. This can include anything from who your customers are and their preferences to what goals and successes your competitors are experiencing. It is difficult to ask the right questions and nearly impossible to find the correct answers without this data.


To wrap it up, while acquiring and interpreting unstructured data is more challenging than structured data, machine learning and data technologies are fast improving. And with the right unstructured analytics tool, extracting insights from unstructured data today is easier than ever. These insights may then be used to create better questions and answer them, understand client preferences, and get the competitive advantage your company needs to stay ahead of the competition.

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