According to Gartner (via Research World, 2025), 80–90% of all newly generated enterprise data is unstructured, and it’s growing three times faster than structured data.

This includes many text documents, media files like audio and images, and other formats that resist categorization. Unstructured data now represents the vast majority of enterprise information assets – yet in many organizations, it remains undergoverned, poorly monitored, and operationally invisible.

This imbalance poses a growing risk. While unstructured data expands in both volume and strategic value, much of the infrastructure built to manage, secure, and move data still centers on structured systems. As a result, critical business functions like collaboration and automation are increasingly fueled by data that falls outside traditional control frameworks. The implications are clear: Unstructured data is no longer peripheral. It's core infrastructure and should be treated as such.

What Is Unstructured Data?

Unstructured data encompasses information that does not conform to a fixed schema, making it incompatible with traditional relational databases.

Examples include:

• Text documents and PDFs
• System and application logs
• Images, videos, and design files
• Emails, transcripts, and chat history
• Code files, scripts, and JSON blobs

While it may not live in a traditional database, this kind of data is central to collaboration, decision-making, and automation.

Why Is Unstructured Data Growing So Quickly?

The surge in unstructured data isn’t simply a matter of storage capacity. It reflects the way modern enterprises collaborate, automate, and distribute information across systems and teams.

1. Collaboration Tools Create More Files

Each shared doc, comment thread, or cloud folder adds to the volume. Teams working asynchronously generate far more artifacts than traditional workflows.

2. AI and Automation Rely on File Inputs

Large language models, analytics pipelines, and robotic process automation consume PDFs, logs, images, and transcripts as inputs – creating even more along the way.

3. Hybrid Work and Cloud Adoption Drive Movement

Files now move across cloud platforms, devices, and geographies. As data becomes more portable, the risk of fragmentation – and mismanagement – grows.

Why Most Infrastructure Still Isn’t Ready

Unstructured data may now be the dominant force in the enterprise, but it’s still not getting the attention it deserves and that’s a problem. Many infrastructure strategies are built around structured data, which means file-based content is often left exposed.

When files are shared through email, unsecured links, or shadow IT, they can easily slip past centralized access controls without anyone noticing. On top of that, organizations often don’t have a clear way to track what happens to those files – who accessed them, where they were moved, or how they were changed.

For companies that have embraced the cloud, file transfers between users, systems, and partners still rely on a lot of manual effort. Uploads, downloads, custom scripts – it’s all too common, especially in areas like vendor communication, back-office operations, or legacy system workflows. The result is slower processes, higher risk, and systems that just aren’t built to scale with the data driving them.

The Shift: Treating Files as Core Infrastructure

Forward-thinking IT teams are starting to see unstructured data differently – not as an afterthought, but as something that deserves the same rigor and investment as any other part of the tech stack. That means treating file movement, access, and governance as essential infrastructure. The goal is to have systems that can actually keep up with the scale and speed of modern enterprise data.

Instead of relying on brittle scripts or manual handoffs, they’re automating secure file transfers between systems, teams, and third-party partners. Access controls are getting more sophisticated, too – with role-based permissions, expiration settings, and support for cross-org governance baked in from the start. And those patchwork, one-off processes are being replaced with standardized workflows that are fully auditable and built to handle file intake, transformation, and delivery without missing a beat.

Unstructured Data Managed for Modern Enterprises

Unstructured data isn’t peripheral – it’s foundational. It powers every workflow, report, and AI insight. But while structured data is tightly governed, unstructured data often remains scattered, overlooked, and under-managed. This imbalance creates risk, including limited visibility, manual inefficiencies, and vulnerabilities in security and compliance.

If most of your data is unstructured, it’s time to elevate it to the level of any mission-critical system. IT leaders are asking: How do we govern unstructured data at scale without overhauling what works?

The answer: a platform that treat files as infrastructure – automating control, visibility, and movement without friction. Because this isn’t just about governance. It’s about unlocking the full value of the data driving your business.