Data-driven companies do everything they can to efficiently collect and exploit data. But if they are not careful, they risk exposing themselves to a major risk: data fragmentation. In this article, we will go over this threat.
What is data fragmentation?
Data fragmentation refers to the dispersion of an organization’s data assets.
This is mainly due to the creation of technological silos and the scattering of data. The more data you have from different sources and stored in different spaces, the more likely it is to be scattered. When data is scattered, it is particularly difficult to get a comprehensive view of the available data assets, especially to reconcile them.
To meet the challenges of a digital transformation, companies have to gradually evolve their strategy. And because the volume of data that businesses generate is literally exploding, most organizations have opted for private, public, or hybrid clouds. The diversification of information storage naturally has a perverse effect: data siloing. This siloing may prevent companies from having global visibility on information and may lead them to make wrong decisions.
Challenges related to data fragmentation
Fighting against data fragmentation must be a priority for several reasons…
First of all, data fragmentation degrades the project of developing a true data culture in a company.
Secondly, data fragmentation indirectly distorts the knowledge enterprises have on their customers, products, or ecosystem because it limits their field of vision. Moreover, data fragmentation strongly impacts storage costs: keeping large volumes of data that are poorly or not exploited is quite costly!
Finally, data fragmentation exposes companies to another major risk: with the proliferation of data from various sources, fragmented and unstructured data multiplies.
If left unchecked, the management of this data can affect business operations, slow down data processes, or worse, increase the risks associated with sensitive data.
Fragmented data can sometimes escape data governance and security strategies, consequences that also increase exposure to data breaches. But data fragmentation can be avoided…
What are the key steps to avoid data fragmentation?
Is your company ready to start the fight against data fragmentation?
To start, it is essential to have precise knowledge of all the data available in the organization. To do this, you need to map all of your data assets. Then, you will have to rely on data backup, archiving and exploration solutions gathered within a unique platform. These solutions will give you a global view of all your data, wherever it is stored.
Combined with the vision of a Data Architect, you can then put your data in order and at the same time restructure your data storage in the cloud.
Finally: to combat data fragmentation, you’ll need to ensure continuous vigilance over all your data.
