Dark Data: Why the way we handle data must change fundamentally
Every year, just in time for the turn of the year, the developments for the coming year are reported - sometimes more, sometimes less accurate. However, when dealing with the widespread and risky phenomenon of dark data, the common trends cannot simply be extrapolated. Why is that?
Advent is not only the time for mulled wine. Forecasts, outlooks and predictions are also very popular in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Almost always, however, they only extrapolate what has already become apparent in the past year. The topic of dark data, however, is currently more about turning common beliefs inside out and critically examining them. The Zug-based company Aparavi, a solution provider for data intelligence and automation, has done just that:
- The cloud will swallow anything if need be: This is not only an ignorant approach, but also an expensive, unsustainable and potentially dangerous one. Simply moving your overflowing unstructured data pools to the cloud doesn't solve a problem, it just moves it to somewhere - literally.
- A lot helps a lot: The more data a company hoards, the better. After all, they're all data treasures, right? Wrong! It can be a burden in more ways than one. A company sitting on terabytes of unstructured data has no way of knowing what's hiding there. And much of it is redundant and potentially at risk from personal data and security-critical information.
- Sustainability is when waste is not visible: Overflowing unstructured data pools require terabytes of storage space. But they lie invisible in their own basements or hidden at the provider's and cause no visible emissions. It's a shame that there are no CO2 measuring stations at particularly busy data intersections. If there were, it would quickly become clear that big data is also big waste - and action must finally be taken.
- Safety is when nothing has happened yet: Alarming reports about data breaches, even at listed companies, surprisingly often do not wake people up, but lull them to sleep. As if this would reduce the probability of being caught. Wrong! No one knows exactly what security and compliance risks lurk in unstructured data pools. If you want to sleep soundly again, you have to take care of it now.
- The next trend will do the trick: Confidence in the latest data technology is certainly honorable. But does it really solve the challenges we face? After Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lake and Data Mesh, is it enough to focus on the next hype? Or isn't it high time to start at the root to finally get a grip on the flood of unstructured data?
"The combination of thoughtless waste and lack of awareness of the problem is a dangerous game of time." explains Gregor Bieler, Co-CEO at Aparavi. "The handling of data must finally become more economically sensible and ecologically responsible."
Source: Aparavi
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