Why

unstructured
data should
matter for
business
value
What is unstructured
data and how is it
different from
structured data?
While structured data refers to
the type of data that can be
stored in traditional database
systems, unstructured data
refers to data (without any
predetermined format) such
as social media posts, E-mail
messages, images and videos,
online searches, product
reviews, and many more.
According to the International
Data Corp. (IDC), Big data is
estimated to grow from 33
zettabytes in the year 2018 to
175 zettabytes by the year
2025. IDC also estimates that
almost 90% of this digital data
is already unstructured data.
Small and large business
enterprises are gradually
becoming aware of the
massive amounts of
unstructured data that they
possess and are trying ways to
derive maximum value from
them.
Extracting
unstructured data

So, why is unstructured data so

important? By industry estimates, a
nominal 10% increase in data
accessibility for a Fortune 1000
company can net an additional $65
million in the company’s net
income.
• As compared to the limits of
structured data, business
enterprises can use a variety of
data analytics tools to extract
valuable insights from the large
volume of unstructured data,
which in turn, can drive
productive business decisions.
• These insights include
identifying product or service-
related issues, market trends, or
customer expectations from a
brand.
As an integral part of machine
learning, natural language
processing or NLP-based solutions
are being deployed by enterprises
to interpret human language and
sentiments (positive or negative)
from available data on social
platforms.
Machine learning tools are
designed to analyze and
interpret multiple variables at
the same time and provide
more better insights to the
business. An example of this is
in the games development
industry where machine
learning is improving games
programming and the overall
player experience.
Integrating structured and
unstructured data

Business enterprises can derive

value from their data by combining
their structured and unstructured
data analysis rather than simply
focusing on either of them
While structured data represents
the “what” of customer
understanding (example, purchase
histories, demographic data),
unstructured data represents the
“how and why” of the customers
(examples, product reviews,
feedback comments).
Building a business
case for data
Organizations need to build a
business case for big data analytics
that addresses its overall business
objectives
This process primarily comprises of
the following steps:
• Defining the overall challenges
faced by the business.
• Drafting the main questions that
need to be answered to meet
each challenge.
• Identifying and leveraging the
key data points that can resolve
each of these questions.
While empowering the
professionals specialized in
data and business analytics
can be effective, it cannot
work without the active
support of the company’s
leadership team.
As a data specialist, linking the
benefits of data analytics with
business objectives is likely to
ensure that more resources
and data access are available
for you.
For more such
information visit
www.countants.com