Structured data refers to information that can be immediately identified within an electronic structure such as a relational database. It's stored, processed and accessed in a uniform way. This data is generally well understood and managed
Unstructured data is the opposite. It includes information such as emails, documents on file servers, social media, video and audio etc. This data is often effectively unmanaged and organizations find it challenging to understand and control its spread
Unstructured data in particular has been increasing faster than organizations can effectively manage it. Organizations are typically unsure how much unstructured data they have, where it is, how sensitive it is and what risk to the organization it poses.
