If you’ve never heard of dark data, you’re not alone. Setting aside the ominous name, dark data isn’t something that is inherently bad – although, in practice, it usually does end up this way. Dark data is usually unstructured data, though it can also be semi-structured or structured data that a business collects and stores but does not use.
This presents a clear inefficiency and a wasted usa whatsapp number data opportunity: With this type of data, storage costs still apply, but the potential benefits that analysis can bring are left out, which is a clear case of opportunity cost. This usually overlooked treasure-trove of data is also a vulnerability in terms of both security and compliance.
Dark data isn’t an edge case. This is a ubiquitous problem, with research from storage provider Seagate indicating that a staggering 68% of data falls into this category.
However, everything isn’t as dark as you might have come to believe. While this is a far-reaching issue, there are ways to leverage this hidden resource, turning a liability into an asset. Join us as we take a closer look at the issue and shine a light on dark data.
What Is Dark Data and Why Is It Overlooked?
To begin, we need to understand what exactly dark data is and the function it serves.
Imagine data generated daily from various sources – whether server log files, unused customer information, or unstructured social media data. This data is often set aside, deemed too complex, irrelevant, or simply forgotten.