While Big Data remains a key talking point for many organisations, the launch of AIIM’s recent industry report into ‘Big Content’ goes to highlight that the next information trend is always on the horizon. So what exactly is Big Content, and where should it fit in to your organisation’s existing information strategy?
When considering Enterprise Content and Information Management, we are often required to address the problems raised by both structured and unstructured information. Traditionally, when organising a company’s information, a mere 30-40% will exist as the structured data that has formed the foundation of Big Data. But beneath this surface, there exists a wealth of unstructured content in the form of documents, emails, videos and images that many organisations are incapable of organising effectively, and therefore unable to use this wealth of information to the benefit of the business. It’s the mobilisation of this information that is becoming known as ‘Big Content.’
Traditionally, data consists of quantitative information that can easily be collected or logged within a table. While content is considerably less tangible, it still provides an equally vital source of business intelligence which is often overlooked.
It is this unseen information that we as business professionals need to understand. By drilling down beneath Big Data, organisations can attempt to get to know their customers on a more human level. We must look beyond the hits, page views and bounce rates that make up Big Data, and focus instead on the intelligence held within unstructured content. Only then are we able to provide some form of context to the raw data we are attempting to collect.
If organisations wish to truly inform their business decisions, they need to start mining and managing not only their customers’ data but also their customers’ content and the content developed from within their own organisation. By undertaking this task now, they will be better prepared to face the future challenges that will inevitably surround Big Content.
#informationmanagement #BigData #infomentum #BigContent #ECM