Security threat or untapped potential? Dark data and Accounts Payable

Data, in whatever format it may take, is a vital part of every business. With phones tracking our every move, all aspects of customer interaction recorded, and new cars generating around of 350MB of data per second, there’s a lot of data to look at.

Billions of gigabytes of data are generated across the world every day; so much that it’s almost impossible to quantify. This data poses both a potential problem and a possible reward. With so much information in front of businesses, the vast majority is lost, disappearing into the dark and creating a possible security threat.  But if it’s found and used effectively, it could actually be very profitable.

The basics of dark data

Dark data is a term used to refer to any kind of information that is generated, collected and stored by a business, and then forgotten about. It can refer to data that is:

• Dormant and inactive
• Never used again
• Unmanaged and unknown

The proliferation of data in all industries means that anywhere between 80 percent and 90 percent of data can be considered as being 'in the dark'.  As email attachments are downloaded, files are zipped and unzipped, and old support tickets lay idle, the volume is ever increasing.

The reasons for this are numerous, but it’s generally just a result of day-to-day processes and unstructured systems that store data in a variety of places. This makes it almost impossible to analyze, as businesses lack the tools to access and organize, the resources to devote to processes, and the overall knowledge of how to find and use this hidden data.

Unanalyzed and forgotten data in Accounts Payable

One area of a business that could hold a wealth of useful data that often goes unutilized is the Accounts Payable department.

Generated from low-level invoice fields, automatic transactional details and overviews in an ERP system, data found in this department could be anything from account histories and old spreadsheets, to sales locations and average price points.

Here, dark data poses a threat to security and a hidden opportunity waiting to be taken.

The security risks of unknown data

Any data that is unknown, whether in type or quantity, poses a security threat for the very reason that it’s in the dark. Often as a by-product of other processes, data that is hidden could be exploited without the knowledge of a business because they simply do not know it is there.

Much of this dark data is also highly confidential and very sensitive, potentially making it very attractive to hackers. If it contains business-critical information, then this data could be extremely harmful to a company and its clients.

Unknown, unstructured and insecure data could:

• Be responsible for a breach of sensitive information that results in legal action and expensive payouts
• Embarrass a company and damage their reputation when internal documents or customer details are leaked
• Hamper internal reviews and cause problems for external auditors when important invoices and records cannot be found

In any of these situations, the data that you think you don’t need to worry about could actually cost you money.

Using Accounts Payable dark data to your advantage

Unconnected, unknown and random data is both unproductive and risky. But if you can organize this content into relevant data sets that are easily accessible, not only will you be able to secure it, you’ll also be able to harness it.

There’s a wealth of unfulfilled value and potential in dark data. If you can identify and leverage this information, you will be able to profit from it. Content supplies information; information leads to knowledge. In turn, the content in this data can add huge value to an Accounts Payable department.

For example, by mining this information you could:

• Close unmatched delivery notes and spot any missed details in received invoices
• Set up new processes to validate a client’s credit in advance
• Identify purchasing trends to boost upselling and cross-selling opportunities
• Take a more in-depth look at browsing, spending and repeat buying habits

The key to getting value from dark data is to find it, structure it together in an organized way, and then analyze it effectively.  This is the only way to know whether there is useful information that can be monetized and become profitable.

Moving forward, it’s also worth thinking about how to prevent data from becoming dark in the first place. Automatic Accounts Payable systems that capture and verify information in an organized way can be extremely useful in ensuring dark data becomes an asset and not a hindrance to your business, saving time, hassle and unnecessary expense.

Photo Credit: agsandrew/Shutterstock

Stephen Mackey is Senior IM Consultant at Kefron. Having worked at Kefron for over 20 years, Stephen’s professional objectives are built around optimizing business information assets in a consultative and professional manner demonstrating quantifiable access and control benefits as well as real cost and process efficiencies in the form of bespoke solutions.