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What Is Structured Data

Structured data is data that has been formatted into predefined fields like address or credit card numbers to be easily queried with SQL. It has benefits like being easily used by machine learning algorithms and business users, and more tools have been developed for it. However, its predefined structure limits flexibility. Unstructured data comes in formats like email and is not defined until needed, allowing wider use cases but requiring data science expertise and specialized tools to analyze.

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66 views

What Is Structured Data

Structured data is data that has been formatted into predefined fields like address or credit card numbers to be easily queried with SQL. It has benefits like being easily used by machine learning algorithms and business users, and more tools have been developed for it. However, its predefined structure limits flexibility. Unstructured data comes in formats like email and is not defined until needed, allowing wider use cases but requiring data science expertise and specialized tools to analyze.

Uploaded by

dinesh170900
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is structured data?

Structured data is data that has been predefined and formatted to a


set structure before being placed in data storage. The data has been
formatted into precisely defined fields, such as credit card numbers or
address, in order to be easily queried with SQL.

Pros of structured data

There are three key benefits of structured data:

1. Easily used by machine learning algorithms: The largest benefit of


structured data is how easily it can be used by machine learning.
The specific and organized nature of structured data allows for
easy manipulation and querying of that data.
2. Easily used by business users: Another benefit of structured data
is that it can be used by an average business user with an
understanding of the topic to which the data relates. There is no
need to have an in-depth understanding of various different types
of data or the relationships of that data. It opens up self-service
data access to the business user.
3. Increased access to more tools: Structured data also has the
benefit of having been in use for far longer, as historically it was
the only option. This means that there are more tools that have
been tried and tested in using and analyzing structured data. Data
managers have more product choices when using structured data.

Cons of structured data

The cons of structured data are centered in a lack of data flexibility.


Here are some potential drawbacks to structured data’s use:

1. A predefined purpose limits use: While on-write-schema data


definition is a large benefit to structured data, it is also true that
data with a predefined structure can only be used for its intended
purpose. This limits its flexibility and use cases.
2. Limited storage options: Structured data is generally stored in
data warehouses. Data warehouses are data storage systems
with rigid schemas. Any change in requirements means updating
all of that structured data to meet the new needs; this results in
massive expenditure of resources and time. Some of the cost can
be mitigated by using a cloud-based data warehouse, as this
allows for greater scalability and eliminates the maintenance
expenses generated by having equipment on-premises.

What is unstructured data?


Unstructured data is data stored in its native format and not
processed until it is used, which is known as schema-on-read. It
comes in a myriad of file formats, including email, social media posts,
presentations, chats, IoT sensor data, and satellite imagery.

Pros of unstructured data

As there are pros and cons of structured data, unstructured data also
has strengths and weaknesses for specific business needs. Some of
its benefits include:

1. Freedom of the native format: Because unstructured data is


stored in its native format, the data is not defined until it is
needed. This leads to a larger pool of use cases, because the
purpose of the data is adaptable. It allows for to prepare and
analyze only the data needed. The native format also allows for a
wider variety of file formats in the database, because the data
that can be stored is not restricted by a specific format. That
means the company has more data to draw from.
2. Faster accumulation rates: Another benefit of unstructured data is
in data accumulation rates. There is no need to predefine the
data, which means it can be collected quickly and easily.
3. Data lake storage: Unstructured data is often stored in cloud data
lakes, which allow for massive storage. Cloud data lakes also
allow for pay-as-you-use storage pricing, which helps cut costs
and allows for easy scalability.

Cons of unstructured data

There are also cons to using unstructured data. It requires specific


expertise and specialized tools in order to be used to its fullest
potential.
1. Requires data science expertise: The largest drawback to
unstructured data is that data science expertise is required to
prepare and analyze the data. A standard business user cannot
use unstructured data as it is, due to its undefined/non-formatted
nature. Using unstructured data requires understanding the topic
or area of the data, but also of understanding how the data can be
related to make it useful.
2. Specialized tools: In addition to the required expertise,
unstructured data requires specialized tools to manipulate.
Standard are intended for use with structured data, which leaves
a data manager with limited choices in products for unstructured
data, some of which are still in their infancy.

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