Explore real-world examples of unstructured data to discover how you can add this information to your workflows

Information powers the modern economy. Social media connects people and commerce through unified platforms. Streaming video offers a never-ending supply of information and entertainment at your fingertips. And machine learning and artificial intelligence can provide deeper insights into data analysis.

Some of this data exists within structured databases. Yet most of it is unstructured and can’t be easily identified, found, or used, so it requires a separate approach to leverage it to its fullest potential. The following unstructured data examples will help you understand how this information fits into your organization’s data ecosystem so you can develop storage and usage processes to get the most out of it.

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

What is unstructured data?

Unstructured data is any file or piece of information that doesn’t fit into traditional database structures. Put another way, structured data is information that can be stored and referenced in relational data tables, while unstructured data is everything else. Some estimates put the total of unstructured data around 80-90%.

That’s not to say that unstructured data is disorganized. It’s an integral part of most organizations, whether they’re archiving audio files of boardroom meetings or gathering content submissions from the public. These files are often organized according to unique business needs and are usually stored in folders on network servers or the cloud. However, they lack searchability or the means to easily find, access, and use the information they contain.This makes it much more challenging to use effectively in data models. According to Deloitte, only 18% of organizations can use this data. Leveraging unstructured data can give you deeper insights and put you ahead of the competition.

Unstructured data examples

Unstructured data makes up most of the information employees use to do their jobs. The following are just a few unstructured data examples to give you an idea of what your organization might need to interact with.

• Digital video files, like YouTube uploads or internal training videos.
• Documents and other text files, like a resume uploaded in PDF format or a press release written in Google Docs.
• Audio files, like corporate podcasts or interview recordings.
• Emails — specifically the content found inside.
• Images, like uploaded photos, infographics, or internally developed designs.
• Social media content, like Instagram posts.

Here’s an example of unstructured data in practice: Consider a scenario where you’re responsible for conducting a long-term study for a healthcare organization. You’ve got years of anonymized patient data to work with. You can fit a lot of the data into a usable structure — things like patient birthdate, height, weight, conditions, and so on. This information feeds directly into your data model and outputs helpful charts and graphs.

In addition to this data, you also have years of physical doctor’s notes that you want to include. This information provides a wealth of valuable context that will be useful for developing the thesis of your study. However, these notes don’t neatly fit into a structured database. Implementing this data into the report will require separate tools. These include digital document scanners and a document management system to process this information into a usable format.

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

Here’s another example: Your marketing firm wants to determine consumer opinions of an unreleased product. You’ve sent out surveys with 20 questions, each requiring a response between one and five. These surveys easily slot into your data analysis platform, allowing you to view sentiment across several demographics.

Alongside these surveys, your team has also conducted dozens of video interviews with customers to discover what they think of the company and its current products. These videos will also tell you a story. However, if that information is unstructured it cannot exist within the same database as your survey data without additional work.

Challenges of working with unstructured data

As with any digital information, your organization must navigate many challenges to make the most out of its unstructured data.

• Storage: Because unstructured data takes so many forms, your storage needs may be difficult to pin down. A single video file could take up gigabytes of storage, while thousands of text documents may only make up a fraction of that.
• Security: Cyber attackers seek data to ransom or sell on the dark web. Unstructured data like emails and data logs can contain proprietary data and must be protected from a data breach.
• Compliance: Unstructured data must meet the same security and privacy requirements as any other data. This includes national and global regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2, depending on your industry and where you do business.
• Access: Large enterprises and distributed workforces all need access to the same data. Organizations must find ways to centralize storage and manage usage to ensure employees can use this data as needed.
• Scalability: Your organization’s data needs may be vastly different a year from now. Anticipating how much data you’ll need to store will inform decisions surrounding how you’ll scale storage and security demands.
• Digitization: If you need to add paper documents to your unstructured data repository, you need devices and processes to help you sort and store them efficiently.

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

Ricoh can help you get the most out of your unstructured data

Unstructured doesn’t mean disorganized. Ricoh has helped organizations of all sizes undergo a digital transformation that boosts workflow efficiency and data accuracy. By leveraging Ricoh’s line of document scanners and our third-party technology partners, you can convert your physical documents into digital, unstructured data in a snap.

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

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