More than half of all data remains untagged and unclassified by Bob Violino via @infomgmt

A new study finds that companies have limited or no visibility over vast volumes of potentially business-critical data, creating a ripe target for hackers.

This is definitely an untapped resource within any company and exactly what an unstructured database would be good for was you start to investigate and sort out the format of the data and how to get sensible information from. You might find that with a little investment in the right resource it could become a valuable data source.

The quality of its data can make or break an organisation by Bob Violino via @infomgmt

High-quality data can improve decision making, customer service, business processes and competitiveness. Poor quality data can potentially lead to financial ruin.0

Time and time again I've explained the need for quality data. If the data is not in a structure you understand or clean the results will not be reliable and will be complete rubbish.

How to banish silos, consolidate data and avoid errors in the process by Fredrik Forslund via @infomgmt

Data silos tend to arise naturally in large businesses because each organisational unit has different goals, priorities and responsibilities, as well as different technical systems or platforms in place.

One of the keys to reducing silos is to have a strong data management team but you also need a strong team of data stewards too.  Something I have found is not only do you have silo's of data, but in those silos you have the same names data fields either in different formats or have a completely different name. You need to sort that out before you can think about getting rid of the silo.

Graph databases gaining in popularity, but confusion still clouds market by Bob Violino via @infomgmt

There is still uncertainty about many products, in part caused by the many vendors of other types of database management systems that offer some graphical support features.

This is still not a simple and clear area but I think if you find the right problem then a graph database if a great thing that will be able to give you real benefits.

Your data is worth nothing — unless you use it by Jennifer Belissent via @infomgmt

Insights-driven companies systematically use their data to deliver better customer experiences, improve operations, and create competitive differentiation — all of which adds to the bottom line.

Jennifer has it completely right - have clean data and then use it. Just be careful of synonyms for data elements (I've worked at an organisation with one data field with on the one hand had more than one name, also had the different names for the same data element and then to make it even worse there were different data elements with the same name. So be organised, have good data management, and use your data.

Understanding fast data and its importance in an IoT-driven world by Kayla Matthews via @infomgmt

Processing high volumes and continuous streams of information in real-time with low to medium latency, it is scalable, has a high uptime and can quickly recover from failure situations.

I think for me you have to have :

- Clean Data - it has to be good data that is not rubbish.
- Data Management - you have to understand exactly what you have and what it means. It has to have consistent definition and there must be some sort of validation to make sure it is correct.
- Process Consistency - your processes have to be consistent too so everyone works off the same thing.

Implementing a real-time catalogue of enterprise data assets by Suresh Chandrasekaran via @infomgmt

Beyond defining access privileges, effective data governance means that companies need to be able to document or label their data assets, much like the labels on pharmaceuticals.

Automatic data cataloguing is a great aim and could if done correctly save a lot of time.

The 3 most important data metrics for retaining customers by Matthew Tharp via @infomgmt

In an era where every customer is valuable, it’s important to use information to more deeply understand the most profitable and high-growth segments and tailor the business to them.

Some great suggestions on metrics as keeping customers is definitely cheaper than getting new ones.

Three tips for mastering digital transformation by Michael Gale and Chris Aarons via @infomgmt

Organisations that saw real results had and built a unique digital DNA that enabled them to succeed where other similar companies failed or saw far fewer results.

I really liked this and agree with the points made in the article.  Organisations really need leadership with the vision and will to do all these things in order to ensure success.

A New Take on Data Discovery, Data Management, and its Relationships by Jennifer Zaino via @Dataversity

Having herself held senior roles in IT at Wall Street companies including Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Oksana Sokolovsky is quite familiar with the challenge of Data Management and data discovery. As co-founder and CEO of ROKITT, her goal was “to build a product that solves that challenge,” she says.

I found this really interesting.