EDITOR’S QUESTION
analysis is fundamental. Knowing what
type of data will be relevant and should
be stored is a differential that can directly
impact company spending. Moreover,
turning this data into high-quality
information and insights is another point
that needs to be taken into account.
In a 2019 global survey on data quality by
Serasa Experian, it was found that 95%
of companies believe that poor quality
of data in businesses negatively impacts
consumer interaction, reputation and
the efficiency of operations. Thus, it is
becoming increasingly evident that the
best way to deal with the situation is to
apply an analytical base to the data even
before storing it, and the sooner this
information is structured, the sooner one
can know what should be available and
what should be stored.
ASSAAD EL SAADI, REGIONAL
DIRECTOR – MIDDLE EAST,
PURE STORAGE
emember those photos
you took during your
R
holidays last year and
are now stored on your
phone? One day you
might want to see them
again or send it to someone. But for the
most part, these photos are just taking
up space. If this happens often enough,
the day comes when you have no idea
what is stored there due to the massive
number of files.
This same thing happens, on a larger
scale, to companies. Data is being saved
or collected every day and it takes time for
someone to become aware that there’s a
huge amount of useless information stored
on servers. This is what we call ‘dark data’.
Gartner defines this data as the information
assets that organisations collect, process
and store during regular business
activities, but are not generally used for
other purposes such as analytics, business
relationships and direct monetisation.
Storing and protecting unused data often
incurs more expense and sometimes
greater risk than value. Still, the existence
of dark data cannot be ignored.
According to Heinz College of Carnegie
Mellon University, about 90% of corporate
information falls into this category as
organisations generally retain this data for
compliance purposes only. For Deloitte,
the generally accepted figure has long
been 80% – known as ‘the 80% rule’ –
though recent estimates put the number
closer to 90%.
This type of data should not be limited to
regulatory and compliance use cases. It
could be quite useful for gaining insight
for decision-makers. In this sense, data
With the billions of files that many
companies keep, it’s not possible to
do a manual analysis. But there are
several tools – that use leading Edge
technologies such as all-flash, Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning – that
you can leverage; categorising what
can be used and eliminating what isn’t
of use to the company. This information
management becomes essential to
the future of a business as it enables
intelligent access to the company’s most
valuable asset and maintains its continuity,
providing important decision-making tools
as data advancement progresses.
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
BECOMES
ESSENTIAL TO
THE FUTURE
OF A BUSINESS
AS IT ENABLES
INTELLIGENT
ACCESS TO THE
COMPANY’S MOST
VALUABLE ASSET.
30 Issue 17
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