Unstructured data can include videos, audio files, images, text documents, and most other information outside of databases

No matter what industry you work in, you’ve probably accumulated a vast repository of unstructured data over the years. What is unstructured data? In brief, it’s any kind of file that doesn’t fit neatly into a database. Images, videos, audio files, text documents, emails, websites, sensor logs, and chat records are all examples of unstructured data.

To understand unstructured data’s role in the business world, it’s helpful to lay out a few definitions first. In this blog, we’ll discuss the exact meaning of unstructured data, the types of files that qualify, and how the concept differs from structured data. By managing unstructured data wisely, you can safeguard your valuable records and help your staff work more efficiently. All you need is a data storage plan that grows alongside your company — and the right hardware.

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

What is unstructured data?

To understand unstructured data, you’ll also need to know about its counterpart, structured data. When computers began to store data in the 1960s, they had limited storage space and no graphical interfaces. As such, the data had to be short, specific information, and programmers had to organize it in a strictly ordered database format. These regimented databases still exist today in the form of structured data.

Today, structured data still refers to quantifiable, searchable information in organized databases. Just about everything else falls under a workable unstructured data definition. From short video clips to elaborate text reports, almost any qualitative digital resource fits the description.

While unstructured data is more difficult to search, it does often contain information that structured data can’t support, such as images or text descriptions. In fact, about 80% of global data is unstructured, and that number could increase within the next few years. While your company might use structured data to store raw numbers, all of the relevant context is in unstructured data files. A business must consult unstructured data to build an online presence, communicate with stakeholders, and analyze performance trends.

Did You Know?:The RICOH fi Series scanners use the robust PaperStream software suite. This powerful image management software cleans up documents and digitizes text as it scans. Click here to learn more.

Types of unstructured data

Since it’s such a broad category, we won’t list all the types of unstructured data here. Instead, we’ll focus on a few that you’re likely to encounter in almost any field.

Multimedia files

Images, videos, and audio files are arguably the most straightforward examples of unstructured data. That’s because, at present, there’s not an easy way to put them in a queryable database format. However, these multimedia files can still be vital for your company’s day-to-day operations. Pictures of what you sell could go on your website. Videos could enhance your presence on social media. You might have to keep important audio recordings for legal compliance. Businesses in creative fields, such as graphic design or video game development, are particularly dependent on multimedia.

Text documents

While databases may contain names, addresses, and similar information, they don’t (and often can’t) host entire documents. Word processor files, emails, scanned documents, and similar resources are unstructured data.

Even so, some text documents blur the line between structured and unstructured data. Spreadsheets, for example, organize specific data into a queryable system. However, unlike more rigorous databases, spreadsheets don’t usually restrict what kind of information you can enter into a cell. This makes them something of a gray area.

Websites and social media

If your business has built any kind of online presence, then you’ve amassed a lot of unstructured data in the process. HTML pages, design documents, and programming logs are all unstructured data. So are the text and multimedia that you put on the site. While your page may contain structured data — a lookup table or an inventory system, for example — the site itself is unstructured.

The same is true of your social media accounts. Social media comprises text, images, and videos, all of which are unstructured data.

Managing unstructured data

Now that we’ve answered the question “what is unstructured data?” it’s worth thinking about how your business can make use of it. The major benefit of unstructured data is that it often contains richer, more detailed information than its structured counterpart. The major detriment is that unstructured data takes much longer to organize and analyze.

The first thing you need to manage unstructured data is an expert in the field. Every piece of unstructured data requires a skill to interpret, whether it’s as simple as reading an email or as complex as building a company website. The workers who best understand your unstructured data should be the ones organizing it into different folders and explaining its significance to other staff members.

By definition, unstructured data is digital information. If your business has a large backlog of paper records, you need to digitize them before you can manage them. Dedicated office scanners, such as the RICOH fi Series, often come with powerful image processing software. These programs can convert scanned words into searchable text. They can also save scanned files to specified locations, either locally or in the cloud.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are two other technologies to watch. Historically, unstructured data has been less searchable than structured data because of its varied nature. However, AI and ML can analyze unstructured data, pick up on commonalities, and summarize their findings in plain language. Someday, these techniques could help bridge the gap between structured and unstructured data.

Did You Know?:PCMag evaluated the RICOH PaperStream software, observing that “you can fine-tune the scanning process to an impressive degree.” The piece also praised the software’s accurate optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities. Read the full article.

Our recommendation: RICOH PaperStream Capture

What is unstructured data? To recap, it’s any digital information outside of a structured, searchable database format. And, in all likelihood, it represents the majority of data your business stores. If you’re looking for the most effective way to manage it, consider Ricoh’s PaperStream Capture software.

PaperStream comes standard with many of Ricoh’s office scanners, including the fi Series. The software cleans up images as it scans, ensuring that digital images look just as good as their physical counterparts. PaperStream also extracts data from text documents, giving you searchable and indexable information. The more unstructured data you have at your disposal, the better you can organize and analyze it.

For more information on how unstructured data fits into the digital transformation process, get in touch with us today.

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