An interesting prospect you met at a trade show contacted you as you were getting ready to get into your car. No question of asking him to call you back later! So you start the conversation. And as you don’t want to lose the details, at the end of it, hop, you open your note-taking application on your smartphone to quickly record everything. You have thus just contributed to the proliferation of data.
What is data proliferation?
What we call data proliferation is the massive daily emissions coming from companies, but also from individuals who use the Internet. The possibility of using ever more devices to access it (smartphones, tablets, but also connected objects) increases the quantities of data generated on a daily basis.
Data fragmentation
As a result, businesses fall victim to data fragmentation. This is what happens when employees use their personal devices or applications not supported by the IT department (known as “shadow IT” ).
It also occurs when the company uses applications installed on different operating systems (Mac, Windows or Linux). Finally, the method of storing data on different media (local network, cloud, NAS, etc.) also contributes to amplifying this phenomenon.
As a result, data that should ideally be kept in one place finds itself duplicated across multiple applications and documents. For example, the address of a customer appears in the commercial database, on the table of a spreadsheet in the accounting department and in the presentation of a document linked to project management. Sometimes, with some spelling variations…
According to some experts, this proliferation of data could grow at a rate of 40% each year over the next decade.
Cloud-based acceleration
The transition to the cloud and its corollary, the adoption of SaaS software, have accelerated the progression of this phenomenon. Often, flexible and user-friendly cloud applications appeal to service managers. They may therefore be tempted to adopt them without the approval of general management or the IT manager. This situation has even become the norm, since the majority of cloud spending is now incurred in this way.
What are the risks posed by data proliferation?
A threat to IT security
Data proliferation poses a significant cybersecurity risk. This is the case for applications used outside the company’s IT perimeter. The data they contain grows uncontrolled and it is much more difficult to protect it properly.
It also increases the vulnerability of companies to cyber attacks, since part of their data is neither monitored nor protected by IT security measures.
However, a large proportion of companies use several cloud applications on a daily basis. On the other hand, they do not have a system capable of unifying, managing or securing these ecosystems. And of course, this doesn’t include those that employees use informally without informing their IT department.
Mute data
The second range of risks comes from the lack of structuring of this data.
Entering duplicates is in itself a factor of time wastage for the company and it encourages errors. It also increases the cost of running the computer system, since more storage space is required to keep these duplicates.
But above all, the fragmentation of data makes it unusable. It is no longer possible to analyze them if they are scattered across different silos, in different formats. Companies thus lose the opportunity to gain valuable information about their organization and the expectations of their customers.
The fight against the proliferation of data is therefore becoming a major challenge for today’s companies. Your company is undoubtedly also affected by this phenomenon. Don’t wait for the proliferation of data to generate a proliferation of costs! Contact us today so that together we can conduct a complete analysis of your IT system. We will identify your vulnerabilities and guide you to take the most appropriate corrective measures.
Also Read: Points That Managers Should Keep In Mind To Innovate Business
