Unstructured Data Management
The Challenges of Unstructured Data
Unstructured data—such as text documents, emails, PDFs, audio recordings, and video files—typically makes up over 80% of an organisation’s entire data estate. Unlike structured databases, this information lacks a predefined data model, making it incredibly difficult to search, track, and manage. As departments continuously create and store files across disconnected shared drives, cloud storage, and legacy repositories, organizations rapidly lose visibility over their own information ecosystem.
This lack of visibility inevitably turns your data estate into a neglected dumping ground of Redundant, Obsolete, and Trivial (ROT) data. Employees face chronic information overload, burning valuable time trying to filter through multiple versions of old files to find a single piece of accurate information. At the same time, critical operational insights remain permanently locked away inside unindexed documents, completely unavailable to decision-makers.
Beyond operational inefficiency, unmanaged unstructured data presents severe compliance and security risks. Without automated oversight, sensitive information—such as personally identifiable information (PII), payment details, or confidential legal records—can easily sit exposed in insecure folders without appropriate access controls. This makes the organisation highly vulnerable to data breaches, while making regulatory obligations like Subject Access Requests (SARs) and GDPR compliance a slow, costly, and resource-intensive manual burden.
Successful Unstructured Data Management
Our approach
We take a strategic, value-driven approach to unstructured data management, combining industry-leading technology with our deep data standards heritage. We recognise that data transformation cannot be achieved with rigid, siloed tools. Instead, we architect connected data ecosystems that respect your existing IT investments while systematically eliminating file clutter, data silos, and operational blind spots. To deliver this, we seamlessly deploy and integrate two best-in-class solutions: OpenText Knowledge Discovery and Congruity360.
Case studies
North Northamptonshire Council (NNC), a Digital Place subscriber, undertook a strategic project with Placecube to develop an end-to-end Blue Badge Application Management system. The council commissioned the solution to replace its aging Blue Badge system, which was scheduled for deprecation.
The Police Digital Service (PDS), in partnership with Placecube, created a knowledge sharing platform designed to facilitate collaboration within the policing sector. Police forces and their partners are enabled to share research, best practice and work together on projects.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils (B&MS) collaborated on a significant digital transformation initiative to rebuild and elevate the user experience of their critical housing services website.
Knowledge Hub (khub.net) is an open digital platform for public service collaboration and knowledge exchange. It provides free or low-cost spaces and tools to over 5,000 UK and international organisations across central and local government, health, education, housing, police, fire services, charities and many more.
Get in touch
Discuss the next step in your digital journey. Please get in touch today, our team of digital experts are ready to help.
