Insights – Structured and Unstructured Data
The lifeblood of all modern enterprises is data. A typical business in this technologically advanced era generates data in multiple formats. However, all data generated by a business can be sorted into two distinct categories. They are structured and unstructured data.
What is Structured Data?
Data that has been pre-formatted and predefined in a bid to make it fit for use as per a structure relevant to a business is known as structured data. Structured data has to be formatted and predefined before it can be stored. Examples of structured data are information present in the central database of a credit card company where all information about its clients such as the credit card number assigned to a user, etc. is stored.
Structured data advantages
- Structured data can easily work in tandem with the latest AI solutions such as ML (machine learning) algorithms
- All businesses around the globe rely on structured data formats for their business-critical information.
- Structured data has been in use globally since time immemorial. Hence, the market penetration of structured data is more compared to unstructured data.
Structure data disadvantages
- Structured data has limited use no thanks to its predefined purpose.
- Structured data entails limited storage options, especially when compared with unstructured data storage options.
What is Unstructured Data?
Unstructured data, unlike structured data, can be stored in its original format. It means unstructured data can be stored without pre-processing it. Examples of unstructured data are emails, social media posts, word documents, etc.
Unstructured data advantages
- Unstructured data is highly adaptable.
- Unstructured data has a larger pool of use cases compared to structured data.
- Unstructured data doesn’t need to be defined until the requirement arises.
- Unstructured data can be accumulated at a rate that is way faster than the rate of structured data accumulation.
- Unstructured data can be stored in run-of-the-mill cloud storage solutions. It means that the upfront, as well as recurring costs of storing unstructured data, are lower compared to structured data storage solutions.
Unstructured data disadvantages
- Unstructured data mining is a specialized process and businesses would need to hire data science experts in a bid to make sense of relevant data from their data lakes.
- Handling unstructured data is a complex process and businesses would need to spend money to procure specialized tools meant for specifically handling unstructured data.
Importance of Data Storage, Backup and DR
Whether a business relies on or generates unstructured or structured data, it can lose all pertinent information at a moment’s notice no thanks to –
- Security breaches
- Natural disasters or
- Human error.
Losing data is one of the most disastrous situations an entrepreneur can find themselves in. A breach, loss, theft or corruption of data not only can drive a business to the brink of extinction. But at the same time, can drive old clients and even prospective clients to seek products or services offered by the rivals of a business.
Furthermore, instances of a data breach, loss, theft or corruption can also keep a business offline for a long time. And it is no news that downtimes for a business means –
- Lost opportunities
- Lost clients
- Lost profits
- Penalties
- Lawsuits, etc.
To keep the aforementioned nightmarish situations at bay, entrepreneurs need to consult with a revered data backup and recovery solution provider in India such as Network Techlab (I) Pvt. Ltd.
Network Techlab (I) Pvt. Ltd is a master partner Nutanix partner in Mumbai. Apart from that, the company offers bespoke data backup and DR solutions. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and has been ISO 27001:2013 certified. The IT solutions provider has been securing the data of its commendable clientele consisting of MNCs and revered SMEs for the past 25+ years. The company has a pan-India presence and offers scalable tariffs to all its clients. For more information, please send an e-mail to info@netlabindia.com or call +91 8879004536.
