Data Makes the World Go 'Round

Chapter 4The New Data Landscape

In this chapter, we will examine the following:

• Traditional and new data types
• What different data types bring to the table
• The data silo problem
• The move toward data unification
• Data platforms: traditional vs. modern

As organizations try to build their data foundation for innovation and AI, they will soon be faced with the reality that there are many types of data sources they must manage. Additionally, these sources are often siloed across the organization, making them difficult to unify. This chapter will examine those data sources, explore why data silos can be so challenging, and discuss the shift toward unified data platforms.

Traditional and New Data Types

Diverse data can be critical for enterprises because it provides a more comprehensive view of their operations, customers, and the external environment. This view enables organizations to uncover hidden insights, make more accurate predictions, and respond effectively to changing environmental conditions. It can also help organizations innovate because they can create new applications that meet customer needs.

When people talk about data types, they are typically referring to structured, unstructured, or semi-structured data. All of these can be important for AI because they can help enrich a dataset that is used to train a model. There is also real-time data, which is important in certain application types.

Structured Data

When I was a data scientist, I primarily worked with ...