Research from International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that unstructured content accounts for 90% of all digital information. This content is locked in a variety of formats, locations and applications made up of separate repositories.
When connected and used properly, such information typically can help increase revenue, reduce costs, respond to customer needs more quickly and accurately, or bring products to market faster. The best practices and strategies to unlock the hidden value of information are the focus of a newly published IDC multi-client study.
“Unlocking information from this content is not a trivial task, and many organisations face roadblocks because of a lack of appropriate technology and processes,” says Dave Schubmehl, research director, Content Analytics, Discovery, and Cognitive Systems.
“IDC set out to better understand what leaders in this area are doing better or differently than others; how they are combining new technology, processes, and empowering staff to unlock the hidden value of information.”
To understand what organisations were doing to extract value from their unstructured content, IDC surveyed 2,155 organisations across six countries and conducted in-depth interviews with 11 organisations in the United States and Europe. IDC then identified a set of leading organisations that have a high Knowledge Quotient (KQ) – a score developed by IDC that identifies an organisation’s ability to unlock the hidden value of information.
“This analysis revealed that organisations with top KQ scores, which represent 10% of our sample, are five times more likely than others to experience benefits from information access, analysis, and sharing projects that exceed expectations,” notes Dan Vesset, vice-president, Business Analytics and big data at IDC.
“The lessons learned from organisations interviewed and surveyed as part of this study show that unlocking the hidden value of information can yield immediate and tangible results.”
The study also found that most organisations need to overcome both technology and organisational challenges to become a KQ Leader. One of the key challenges organisations face is the ability to measure project benefits. IDC found that 63% of the organisations surveyed had not quantified the benefits from their information access, analysis, and sharing projects.