Finding and exploiting dark data

Back in the mid-1980s, Lotus Development launched a search product called Magellan, the idea of which was to help users find data on their disks that they could not find just by using the often abstruse file names – using a maximum of just eight characters – that were allowed back then.

Technically it was brilliant at its job, but failed as a product, quite possibly because the big disks then offered little more than 10 Mbytes of storage. In practice there was not enough room for what has now become known as `dark data’ to hide.

Now, of course, things are very different, and the cloud only give dark data even more places to skulk around unobserved. Finding that dark data is now the target for the latest addition to Bloomberg’s enterprise information management service, Bloomberg Vault.  

This is the new File Analytics product, a hybrid-cloud service that enables firms to locate, manage and unlock the potential of discoverable information held in corporate files and documents. It helps enterprises manage 'dark data,' which Bloomberg defines as unstructured data that is difficult to identify, categorise, track and manage.

"Businesses today struggle to capture and organise the many different types of unstructured data in corporate file shares and enterprise repositories," said Harald Collet, global head of Bloomberg Vault. "This 'dark data' presents firms with significant challenges and opportunities. Bloomberg Vault File Analytics helps firms address these challenges and derive more value from their data by enabling them to manage, analyse, and control large amounts of enterprise information."

Bloomberg Vault File Analytics can be used as part of a holistic information governance strategy to search and pro-actively manage dark data, whether it resides in enterprise communications, social media conversations or files and documents. File Analytics helps organisations mitigate risk and alleviate the concerns of compliance, legal or risk management.

"Bloomberg is investing in enterprise solutions that enable our clients to capitalise on the value of their data. For firms to be able to capitalise on their data they must first understand what kind of data they have and who is using it," explained Gerard Francis, global head of Bloomberg's Enterprise Solutions business. "Bloomberg Vault File Analytics helps firms derive insights from their organisational data, which can enhance business intelligence and strategic planning."

Legal and compliance professionals can also use File Analytics for policy-based record retention, regulatory investigations, eDiscovery collection, and for deletion of corporate data based on best practices policies. IT executives can leverage the technology for file reporting, intelligent data migration, and more cost-efficient storage management across their enterprise data and file shares.

Bloomberg Vault is a cloud-based information management service that delivers compliance, eDiscovery, and enterprise archiving by leveraging the scalability and reliability of Bloomberg’s global infrastructure, which distributes up to 250 million daily messages and manages more than 70 billion archived records on behalf of Bloomberg Vault subscribers.