The modern enterprise has evolved into a giant producer and consumer of data. Despite the large volume of controls and efforts to protect various data types, very few organizations can map exactly where their sensitive data is located and what security controls are deployed to guard it.
Structured data types that are centrally managed allow for better control of enterprise data. They are often accessed and managed using a Structured Query Language (SQL). Unstructured data does not have a predefined data model or is not organized in a predefined manner. This type of data is typically text heavy, but may also have embedded dates, numbers, and facts as well. Modern NoSQL (or “not only SQL”) data management tools are used to access and manipulate these types of data pools. Notwithstanding this, large portions of data can remain scattered across different storage volumes and partitions, email applications, endpoint drives, and backup systems.
Where data is dispersed, this can increase the risks and potential vulnerabilities associated with storage and management. For organizations to adequately mitigate these risks, they should first “discover” data types to understand and map where data resides, along with the type and content of the data.
If you are an Oracle database user, a great tool to perform Data Discovery is Oracle Data Safe.
Classification is the next step after discovery. Classification implies that data will be identified and understood according to sensitivity, distribution, subject, and any other relevant categories. Proper data classification is essential to build effective data controls, thus enabling compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and standards.
With the business user in mind, big data discovery combines flexible analytic engines, intuitive user interfaces, self-service delivery, and other technologies designed to make powerful and easy-to-use analytics available to every user in the enterprise. No longer is computing power a limiting factor as cloud-based systems provide the needed resources to scale even the largest volumes of data and deliver results quickly.
Data discovery in the cloud is also opening the landscape of possibilities for inter-enterprise collaboration enabled by sharing data and analytics. Leading cloud-based solutions can now easily integrate disparate data from various sources, combine it with enterprise data, and—using highly configurable access controls—facilitate data sharing with third-party organizations.