A look at the tools and processes organizations use to get the biggest return on their data

Data is potential, and how you use it can determine your company's success or failure. Clearly, it's important that your information is organized, searchable, and accessible to those who need it. But not all data is created equal—some data comes neatly structured, while other data remains unorganized and harder to process.

Understanding the difference between structured and unstructured data is critical to getting the most out of your information. Properly managing each type can help you streamline workflows, gain valuable insights into trends, and better understand customer sentiment. In this article, we’ll explore the key distinctions between structured vs unstructured data, as well as strategies for leveraging both to maximize their impact.

Need help getting a handle on your data? Check out Unstructured Data: A Guide for Business for more information.

Structured vs unstructured data: 4 key distinctions

1. Defining structured and unstructured data

The biggest difference between structured and unstructured data lies in how each type of information is organized.

Structured data can be neatly defined and sorted into a database or schema, making this information far more accessible to machine-based organization and processing systems. A data table filled with names, dates, payment amounts, account numbers, and other discrete data points — each easily placed and accounted for in its own cell — is considered structured data. Because this table uses a strict formatting structure, it’s easy to manipulate its data to analyze patterns or form relational connections with other databases.

Unstructured data is a file, piece of information, or other data that does not neatly fit into a database or schema. Depending on the type of media, these files come in a variety of formats. They can be large (like an hour-long video file) or small (like a one-page document). There is no strict structure to how this data is created, stored, or used, so it’s much more difficult to process alongside structured data.

Structured vs unstructured data examples

Structured data:

• SQL databases containing retail inventory data
• Excel spreadsheets containing corporate finances
• A database containing the results of online form submissions
• Metatags used to optimize search filtering

Unstructured Data

• Social media posts
• Emails
• Video and audio files
• Photographs

2. Managing structured and unstructured data

Because structured data requires a specific format, it must be stored in a location that supports this format. For example, many cloud-based companies use data warehouses to ingest and store structured data. These warehouses also include pipelines organizations can use to connect this central database to other applications.

Meanwhile, the storage requirements for unstructured data are much more flexible. You can choose one based on your specific needs. For example, you could house these within a file structure on your on-premises network system. If you need them accessible on the cloud, you could instead store them inside a data lake. This offers a massive, centralized, accessible storage solution. You can also scale it up or down depending on how much information you have.

3. Tools needed to handle structured and unstructured data

SQL is one of the most commonly used schema markup languages for handling structured data. Many organizations rely on database software like MySQL to develop and maintain their databases much more efficiently than building them by hand. These tools also allow deeper integration with applications, allowing for faster, more accurate data processing even under heavy workloads.

To make unstructured data usable alongside your structured data, you’ll need specialized tools to process and store this information. For example, your organization might need to convert physical documents into usable digital files. In this case, you’ll need a scanner and a document management system to ingest those files correctly. These tools should offer a complete approach to data processing, including image cleanup and data extraction capabilities to help you get the most out of your unstructured data.

Did You Know?:With just a few clicks, PaperStream Capture will automatically scan physical documents and convert them into searchable digital files. It’s easy to use, too — set up automated organization and rich meta-tagging processes with just a few clicks.

This is just one example, though. Unstructured data encompasses a variety of media and data types. You will need to find the right tools for the data you plan to use, whether that’s information you’re extracting from social media or analyzing from a video interview.

4. Leveraging structured and unstructured data

By applying machine learning tools to an organization’s structured data sets, you can process vast amounts of information in a short amount of time. Doing so will provide you with deeper insight into long-term trends, allowing you to make better decisions to guide your organization’s future.

Doing the same for unstructured data is more complex. It requires specialized tools to convert and process this information. Solving this problem can unlock even more context for your data. For example, you could scrape public social media posts for discussions on a particular topic. Once processed, you could filter this data by specific keywords or sentiments. This could help to address shortcomings or anticipate future needs.

Did You Know?PaperStream IP’s robust optical content recognition systems can extract text-based data from digital documents with improved accuracy.

Transform your unstructured data processes with Ricoh

Despite their differences, structured and unstructured data can work together harmoniously — and Ricoh can help. We’ve had years of experience helping organizations of all sizes digitally transform their workflows to unlock deeper insight and greater efficiency. Our line of document scanners work hand-in-hand with our collection of third-party technology partners to help you gain access to whatever data you need, whenever and wherever you need it.

Want to learn how a digital transformation can improve your organization's workflows? Contact our experts today, and we’ll find a solution that meets your unique needs.

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