In today’s data-driven world, organizations are drowning in an ever-increasing deluge of data. From customer interactions and transaction records to social media engagements and IoT sensor data, the volume and complexity of data generated daily can be overwhelming. However, within this vast sea of information lies a treasure trove of insights waiting to be uncovered – provided you know where to look.

It’s the Age of Data. Secure it with Data Discovery

Enter data discovery, a powerful process that empowers enterprises to navigate the intricate data landscape, identify valuable data assets, and unlock their true potential. By systematically exploring structured and unstructured data sources, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of their data holdings, enabling informed decision-making, enhanced security, and ultimately, sustainable growth.

Understanding Data Discovery

Data discovery is the process of identifying, classifying, and cataloging data assets across the ecosystem. It involves deploying specialized tools and techniques to explore structured and unstructured data sources, including databases, files, emails, and more. By comprehensively mapping out data repositories, your enterprise can gain a clearer understanding of data assets, their locations, and their relationships. To give you an idea, Netflix utilizes data discovery to analyse viewer preferences and behaviour, enabling personalized recommendations and content curation. Netflix’s recommendation system, powered by data discovery, contributes to over 80% of the content streamed on the platform.

Into The Data Landscape

The data landscape can be a maze for those uninitiated. But with data discovery, you have the luxury of a bird’s eye view of all that’s transmitted. You can identify redundant, outdated, or trivial data, as well as valuable assets. This visibility facilitates informed decision-making that ultimately translates to a better bottom-line. Moreover, it helps categorize and classify sensitive data based on regulatory requirements, whether personally identifiable information, protected health information, financial data, or intellectual property. This classification forms the foundation for implementing tailored security measures and access controls.

Take Walmart for example. They collect a staggering 2.5 petabytes of unstructured data from 1 million customers, every hour. In 2013, eyebrows were raised when Sam Walton and co. paid big money to acquire one of Silicon Valley’s hottest data startups to boost its big data capabilities. More than a decade later, the purchase is regarded as a gamechanger. Since optimizing inventory management and supply chain operations, the company could forecast demand more accurately and optimize inventories. The result? An overall 10% improvement in inventory turnover resulting in a cascading impact on the company’s turnover.

It’s Secure Till It Isn’t

Why wait till a serious breach to address chinks in the armour? Instead proactively identify security vulnerabilities by scanning and analysing data repositories. This proactive approach enables timely risk mitigation strategies, such as data encryption, anonymization, and access restrictions, reducing the likelihood of data breaches and worse, regulatory penalties for your enterprise. Perhaps more importantly, data discovery is the key to customer trust. By ensuring data accuracy, integrity, and confidentiality, you can foster long-term relationships and brand loyalty, scaling newer heights.

Implementing Data Discovery

Okay, you have convinced me. Where do I start? For starters, it’s time to get your IT, Data Governance, and Security Teams on the same page. Establishing cross-functional teams ensures alignment of goals, resources, and expertise, streamlining the data discovery process from discovery to remediation. Team-work is where it all starts.

Only, there is no end to it. Make no mistake; data discovery isn’t a one-time endeavour, but a continuous journey. Organizations must demonstrate continuous commitment to data discovery by investing in robust tools, processes, and employee training programs. When your employees are empowered to handle data with the attention it deserves, they become security ambassadors for your enterprise.

Crucially, there is always new data. The answer? Continuous data scanning and monitoring. Organizations should be equipped with tools capable of detecting new data repositories, changes in data structures, and unauthorized access attempts in real-time. You need to conduct audits and assessments at regular intervals to ensure compliance and security across all levels of the enterprise.

The Bank of America Story: A Warning

The more sensitive your data, the more valuable. For the dollars and pounds to matter, your data must be protected with guardrails. Just ask Bank of America. In 2022, they were slapped with a $225 million fine for bad fraud detection during the Pandemic. The bank, which administered unemployment benefits on behalf of multiple states, distributed pandemic unemployment benefits to more than 14 million people.

Unfortunately, such high volumes triggered a surge in fraud attempts, and the bank applied a filter with a simple set of flags to automatically trigger an account freeze. This left many people without money during one of humanity most testing times. The clincher? All this could perhaps been avoided if their data discovery strategies were up to the task.

By integrating data sources such as customer demographics, transactional patterns, and geolocation data, Bank of America could have contextualized transactions to better assess the likelihood of fraud. This contextual understanding would have enabled the bank to make better decisions, reducing the likelihood of erroneous actions. Instead, their year-end account books reflected an unjustified loss of $225 million.

Making Data Work… For You

Just as sorting through vacation memories allows you to cherish highlights while safeguarding sensitive moments, data discovery empowers organizations to ensure regulatory compliance, bolster security measures, and nurture customer trust. It’s not just about managing data; it’s about embracing it as a strategic imperative, integrating it seamlessly into the fabric of your data governance framework. By doing so, you not only unlock the full potential of your data assets but also create a resilient foundation that protects sensitive information from threats. And let’s face it. The threats are never going away. The key is to remain a step ahead, and make data work for you.