The enormous amount of data produced on daily basis is overwhelming. Among this ocean of data 90% of the data is categorized as unstructured data. In case you are wondering what is unstructured data and how is it important, continue reading below:

What is Unstructured Data?

The kind of data which cannot be stored in a conventional database or a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel, is described as unstructured data. Since is it not organized, unstructured data is very difficult to locate and analyze. In the past, organizations did not put such data to good use because of its unorganized format and difficulty to locate. However, trends have changed abundantly now, and owing to artificial intelligence-powered unstructured data analytics tools, this kind of data can also be analyzed.

Examples of Unstructured Data

Any kind of data that has no definite structure or pattern can be categorized as unstructured data. The most common type of unstructured data is email. Although emails contain information such as date, sender address, recipient address, and subject information; yet what makes it unstructured data is the content in the mail’s body. Emails can be referred to as semi-structured data too because they contain some information consistently.

Some other examples of unstructured data are text files, photos, audio and video files, social media sites, call records and transcripts, webpages and blog posts, and open-ended survey responses.

Importance of Unstructured Data

The huge amount of data, produced as unstructured, cannot be wasted. Hence, organizations must find new ways to manage and analyze this valuable data, so that it can be put to good use to make important business decisions. Finding a way to manage unstructured data can help organizations prosper in highly competitive environments. If this data is not capitalized, then organizations are missing out on benefitting from one huge asset.

Benefits of Unstructured Data Analytics Tools

1.      Get valuable insights into unstructured data

Although many organizations have been using structured data to make important business decisions, it wasn’t until the development of tools for data analysis that businesses could benefit from valuable data. Likewise, a plethora of information is available in unstructured data, which can be accessed and utilized in a meaningful way, using analytical tools. With the help of artificial intelligence algorithms, meaningful information from the volumes of unstructured data can be extracted daily. Many organizations use data tools and software to manage, process, mine, integrate, store, track, index, and report business insights from unstructured data. In the absence of these tools, it would be difficult and even impossible for organizations to manage unstructured data efficiently.

2.      Customer Analytics

Unstructured data can also be used for customer analytics. With the availability of data from sources such as call center transcripts, online reviews of products, chatbox conversations, and social media mentions; the companies can use artificial intelligence to identify user patterns, by integrating with unstructured data. With such insight, businesses can work towards taking quick decisions for improving customer relationships.

3.      Beneficial for Marketing

By analyzing customer patterns in unstructured data, marketing campaigns can be designed accordingly. By quickly scanning enormous datasets and identifying user patterns organizations can make informed decision-making regarding responses for various products and services. This information can also be used for product development and devising marketing strategies accordingly.

Contoural Inc.

To maximize the usage of unstructured data, and to implement analytical tools, get in touch with our team of experts at Contoural Inc. We can help you uncover the enormous business value of unstructured data, by having systems to store, analyze and report data from different sources. Take your business to new heights by effective decision-making based on Email & Unstructured Data Management.