Infographic - What is dark data and why it matters

Consulting and Market Research company Gartner Inc. defines Dark Data as 'information assets that organisations collect, process and store in the course of the regular business activity, but generally fail to use for other purposes'. In other words, dark data is all the data generated by a company's CRM, ERP, SCADA, HTTP and WIFI systems which is not captured or left unanalyzed.

As you can see in this other infographic we had previously posted, big data can be described as an iceberg. What we can see is just the tip, all the rest is submerged dark data. Clearly, dark data is huge, and while it can be hard to deal with so much information, there is no doubt it can be the source of meaningful insights. 

While there can be many obstacles when trying to access, collect and analyze this type of data, dark data is a vital source of economic opportunities. Some of the smartest companies are already overcoming those challenges, attracted by the possibility to increase revenues, decrease costs and optimize processes. Unsurprisingly, analysts forecast that the businesses who will figure out how to get the most out of it will eventually win over the competition.

Obviously, for organizations to be data-driven, they need data literate employees. However, there is a huge skills gap in the data industry and, while companies would love to close such gap through external hires, there is simply not enough talent to fill all the positions that will be needed in the coming years. As firms will be forced to develop new skills internally, this is a great opportunity for employees striving for a promotion.

Indeed, data experts are becoming the corporate strategists of the 21st century. So if you are an employee trying to advance in his/her career, make sure you develop good data skills.

Dark Data Infographic: what is dark data and why it matters

A few weeks ago, Splunk published a report titled "The State of Dark Data", which is based on a global survey the company conducted among more than 1300 global business managers and IT leaders from the USA, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, China and Japan. We grouped together some of what we thought were the most interesting statistics in the report to give you a quick and clear overview of what the report says. We hope you'll enjoy!

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