Unstructured data has been around for a long time - certainly longer than the computer. Consider the Bible, the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and the Kama Sutra. They long predated silicon chips. And search engines have been around for a while as well - but not as long as the printed word. When it comes to unlocking the valuable information contained in unstructured data, even with sophisticated search engines, the world really has not come very far. So, why would this be the case?

There is a missing ingredient that needs to be present in order for search engines to unlock the real value of unstructured data. To help explain that missing ingredient, consider the oldest information technology conundrum of all: GIGO or “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” What happens when a powerful search engine is used against textual data that is essentially unscrubbed, unwashed and unintegrated? The answer is that the result of the search engine’s work, which is returned to the end user, is also unscrubbed and unwashed.

In order for a search of text to be really powerful, the text that the search is conducted on needs to be integrated before the search is done. Once it is completed, you won’t start with garbage in – and you then wouldn’t expect garbage out.

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